Breakthroughs in Veterinary Medicine: Full Circle

It is heartwarming to see the advances in 21st century veterinary medicine and how many new breakthroughs are happening recently. The advances continue to validate the concept of “One Medicine” for all species. Some breakthroughs are based on advances in human medicine that then are applied to animals such as this prosthetic leg for a pony. Other breakthroughs are pioneered in veterinary medicine and are then eventually documented sufficiently to be extrapolated to human medicine. One of the most exciting of these advances is adipose derived stem cell therapy for pets as well as for horses developed by Medivet. This breakthrough has allowed stem cell therapy for our companion animals to be able to performed in the animal hospital, thereby making it more convenient and economical. It is a major breakthrough in the treatment of arthritis in animals. Hopefully, this may then become more available for humans. 

When I was first pioneering veterinary acupuncture at the Animal Medical Center in NYC in 1982, there were few options available for animals with arthritis beyond steroidal and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications or surgery. If those were not an option due to the degenerative joint disease not being amenable to surgery or because of the side effects of medications, acupuncture was an excellent alternative. My entire veterinary practice was focused on developing natural, nontoxic approaches to animal health care when conventional medicine and surgery were either not working or having side effects. My search for natural nontoxic approaches led me from acupuncture to Oriental herbal medicine, western herbal medicine, chiropractic, osteopathy, nutritional supplements, nutraceuticals, etc. I found that each approach was able to help a certain number of conditions, but integrating the best of all of them along with the best of conventional medicine and surgery proved to provide a more comprehensive, integrative approach with greater success.

As we explore the frontiers of medicine from stem cell therapy to veterinary prostheses to the pioneering approaches of energy medicine, more and more animals and humans will be able to live longer, healthier and happier lives. Personally, I feel that the cutting edge field of energy medicine based on the new Physics and new Biology will be providing even more exciting news that will be of benefit to all beings in the near future. Stay tuned as we continue to help all beings!