Читать книгу The SAGE Encyclopedia of Stem Cell Research - Группа авторов - Страница 301

Animals, especially horses, are at a high risk of injuring their ligament or tendons and are, most often, put down or sold, as the cost of treatment is high and, even after treatment, there is no restoration of full function. The use of stem cells to restore function of injured tendons and ligaments will help immensely in veterinary medicine and will aid in the treatment of injured animals. There is considerable interest in the use of stem cells in veterinary medicine and stem cells derived from animals are isolated and cultured for use in treatment.

The injection of stem cells directly into the site of injury may increase the rate of repair, but it requires the injection of specific growth factors to encourage the stem cells to follow required growth and development. This has brought into focus tissue engineering, which is the process of developing functional tissue that can be introduced directly at the injury site. There is an ever-increasing need to create better treatment procedures, and now stem cells are being genetically modified to make them function better.