Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cognitive disturbances in old dogs suffering from the canine counterpart of Alzheimer's disease.
- Journal:
- Brain research
- Year:
- 2006
- Authors:
- Rofina, J E et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Pathobiology · Netherlands
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
In older dogs, behaviors similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease are often noticed. Researchers studied 30 dogs of different ages to see how their behavior related to changes in their brains. They found that as dogs got older, they showed more behavioral changes, and these changes were linked to specific brain issues, except for one type of damage. The study suggests that using questionnaires can help veterinarians identify these Alzheimer-like changes in dogs, and that damage at the cellular level is important in understanding these behavior changes. Overall, the findings indicate that there is a connection between age, behavior, and brain health in older dogs.
Abstract
In geriatric dogs, Alzheimer-like behavior is frequently observed. This behavior has been classified by several authors using questionnaires and a correlation has been described between cognitive dysfunctions and Alzheimer-like pathology. In the present study, cognitive performance was correlated with brain pathology for 30 dogs of varying ages. Within these animals, two age-matched groups of old dogs with and without behavioral changes were compared. The behavioral changes were analyzed and scored with questionnaires and necropsy was performed to rule out any other cause for changed behavior. Measurements, (immuno)-histochemical staining and fluorescence microscopy were used to detect cortex atrophy, amyloid, rest-products of oxidative damage, demyelination and accumulations of macrophages in the brains of these dogs. Spearman rank correlation coefficients (r) were calculated and adjusted according to Bonferonni. In the whole group (young to very old dogs), the age of the animal showed a significant correlation with various behavioral changes (r = 0.7 to 0.9, P < 0.01). The dementia score correlated significantly (r = 0.6 to 0.8, P < 0.01) with all the brain lesions studied, except one, i.e. demyelination (r = -0.4, P > 0.05). These results suggest that a questionnaire can be used to diagnose Alzheimer-like changes in canine practice. Oxidative damage on a cellular and a nuclear level plays an important role in behavior changes.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16423332/