Scientists have been investigating a new treatment for cats with kidney disease. The treatment involves taking some cells from the cat’s own body and injecting them into the cat’s kidney through a small cut in the skin. This is called an “intra-arterial” injection, and it allows the cells to go directly into the kidney.
The scientists wanted to see if this treatment was safe and could help the cats. They tried it out on five cats with kidney disease, and it worked well without any major problems. However, they still need to do more tests to see if the treatment actually helps the cats in the long run.
The cats in the study had a disease called “chronic kidney disease” (CKD), which means their kidneys were not working well. The scientists hoped that the cells they injected into the kidney would help the kidney to work better. Some of the cat owners said their cats seemed to feel better after the treatment, but it is hard to say for sure if this was because of the treatment or just a natural improvement.
The scientists used cells called “mesenchymal stem cells” (MSC) for the treatment. These cells come from a cat’s own fat tissue and can turn into different types of cells to help repair damage. The scientists chose this type of cell because it was easy to get from the cat’s own body and seemed to work well in previous studies.
The treatment was tricky to do because the cats are small and the kidney is hard to reach. It also required the cats to be put under anesthesia, which can be risky for older cats. However, the scientists were able to do the treatment safely in all five cats.
Although the treatment seems promising, the scientists still need to do more tests to see if it actually helps cats with kidney disease in the long run. They also need to do more research to make sure the cells they used are the best ones for the treatment.
In conclusion, this study shows that injecting cells directly into a cat’s kidney could be a safe and effective treatment for kidney disease. However, more research is needed to be sure.
Intra-arterial renal infusion of autologous mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of chronic kidney disease in cats: Phase I clinical trial
This is a summary of the article: Intra-arterial renal infusion of autologous mesenchymal stem cells for treatment of chronic kidney disease in cats: Phase I clinical trial