J：Dr. Kishigami gives many lectures nationwide, so I am sure that there are many families who have heard about cell therapy from various sources.
Kishigami：No, no, your family does not come together for the lecture. Yes, we don’t really do announcements at the moment. I think we need to do something more for the public.
J：Would you like to raise more awareness of regenerative therapies?
Kishigami：That’s right. I want more people to know that they don’t have to give up. I would like more people to know that there are treatments like this. Also, when I talk to families about the treatment, I always present past cases, saying, “This is how it worked. This treatment is originally less damaging. It doesn’t use harsh drugs, it doesn’t require major surgery, and it simply utilizes the animal’s natural self-healing ability. I think the main point of this treatment is that it does little damage to the body. It is called “minimally invasive. For example, anticancer drugs are the epitome of “invasive and aggressive,” and I think that 10 to 20 years from now, people will be saying, “Anticancer drugs existed in the past.
J：What would you like to see from J-ARM in the future?
Kishigami：I would like to see more research and development in the future. I expect good research (laughs). For example, on a basic level, I would like to see research on how to bridge the technical gap in cell culture. Sometimes it is the little things that make the difference, so I want you to continue to enlighten us on that.
J：We will definitely do our best there. Please tell us about your vision for treatment, such as how you would like to use regenerative therapy to cure such diseases in the future.
Kishigami：I would like to try degenerative myelopathy (DM) in corgis in a little more depth. I would like to see if mesenchymal stem cell administration would help with this as well. Also, there are many cases of feline renal failure, and I would like to deepen our understanding of renal failure. I am also thinking that we may be able to improve treatment results by devising a new method of administering the cells to children with ultra-chronic disease. Kidneys are mesodermal cells, so adipose-derived stem cells should have the ability to differentiate. However, the actual dosage is low, so I believe that the cytokines secreted by the cells may have a significant effect.
「Believe in our innate ability to heal ourselves」
J：Finally, do you have a message for doctors and young veterinarians who are planning to introduce regenerative medicine?
Kishigami：I think it is wonderful that diseases that could not be cured before can be cured by this kind of cell-based treatment. In the past, I myself used expensive and harsh drugs, but in the end, the effectiveness was not good. I have realized how effective it is to use the stem cells that the individual has, and I believe that we will switch to such treatment in the future. I have the impression that now is not the time to be operating or using anticancer drugs. In other words, we have to let go of the arrogance that we are curing the animal and realize that we are simply supporting the animal’s natural healing ability. I think it is better to believe in the self-healing ability of the animal than to believe in the conventional “evidence-based” treatment as a whole. Nature is the best evidence itself, rather than the evidence created by academics. Some people think that “evidence = past papers,” but that is just what people think, and what people have reviewed. I learn evidence from nature.
Severely intractable cases that can be cured in a way that was unimaginable in the past. I believe that more and more such cases will emerge in Japan and around the world, and I would like to discuss and study these cases together with you all.
J：Thank you very much for your valuable talk today.
（Interview Date: July 23, 2013）
Kishigami Veterinary Hospital
Address: 1-6-1 Maruyamadori, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 545-0042, Japan
Phone：06-6661-5407
http://www.dr-kishigami.com