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Orthokin® /IRAP®-Therapy
Can we regenerate cartilage in equine joints?
It is a dream for every doctor to be able to treat arthritis regenerating the destroyed cartilage. Today this is not possible in horses if the cartilage is destroyed up to the surface of the bone. Since 2001 we, in our clinic, work together with human doctors to reach this dream. With the biotechnological treatment of ORTHOKINE we were, for the first time, able to regenerate a joint and stabilize the cartilage. Up until then, the common procedure was to treat the joint with anti-inflammatory drugs e.g. cortisone. This form of drugs are only able to reduce the inflammation in the joint, they had no direct effect on the cartilage. A similar problem is found with hyaluronic acid (called “HY”). This artificial joint fluid is only one of the components in a healthy joint. HY reduces inflammatory signs and processes in affected joints and plays a role in stabilising the disturbed metabolism. But even HY has no influence on the cartilage. For this reason the company ORTHOGEN, Germany developed a new treatment way. The goal was to use positive natural autologous substances, which is found in every human and animal body, to cure a damaged joint. In humans, osteoarthritis with extensive degeneration is a common problem. With ORTHOKINE the scientists of this company found a way to use the blood of the affected person. From this blood a concentrated mix of positive acting substances, e.g. the Anti-Interleukin Receptor Antagonists (RA-L1) growth factor and more, is produced using a special procedure. This mix is processed in a laboratory, the result being an injectable serum. The ORTHOKINE-serum can be injected directly into joints. It can also be frozen and stored for repeated treatments.
The team around Dr.Weinberger did the basic work for the adaption of this treatment from human medicine to equine medicine. Since 2001 several thousand injections were carried out on equine joints showing different stages of inflammation and cartilage problems with a high rate of success. After proofing the safety of this method and with the positive results of this treatment the ORTHOGEN-company (LINK ZU LINKSEITE) decided to establish this treatment for horses and named the product IRAP®. Additional scientific studies were performed in different countries. Prof. Wayne McIllwraight of Colorado State University, USA and Dr. Frisbie showed in an extensive study that there are no negative side effects and that the results found in changing the cartilage was positive. For this reasons more and more equine veterinarians around the world use IRAP®.
For what joint problem can we use IRAP®?
Basically, IRAP® can be used for any joint inflammation, at any stage. The common drugs (cortisone etc.) are still used on a fresh acute inflammation of the joint due to the time, work and costs involved in producing the IRAP®. If the joint is pre-treated with “normal” drugs without success and if the inflammation or disease perseveres we offer IRAP® to our clients. Often, after an arthroscopy, it makes sense to treat the joint with IRAP® to help the joint to regenerate cartilage lesions. Sometimes clients ask us to use IRAP® in seemingly hopeless cases based on dramatic x-rays or when every treatment which is available has been tried. Even in these cases, we are surprised about positive results despite the poor prognosis. Since we have the possibility to do MRI examinations on horses we can detect small cartilage lesions in joints and for these cases we offer IRAP® treatment with good results. If you are unsure whether or not IRAP® could be useful for your horse, do not hesitate to contact us under IRAP@equineclinic.de.
