Mechanistic Understanding of Antioxidants Impact on Cognitive Function in Geriatric Canines.
Canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) is a collection of symptoms, or behavioral changes, described specifically in dogs of advanced age unrelated to any other diagnosable illness. Symptoms may include an altered sleep-wake cycle, newly developed destructive behavior, inappropriate elimination, excessive vocalization, pacing or wandering, and altered social interaction with the owner. In regards to aging, the brain is one of the most susceptible tissues in the body because of its high oxygen requirement, poor endogenous antioxidant capacity, and limited regenerative ability.
The most commonly recognized changes in the canine brain include decreased total brain volume, enlargement of the lateral ventricles, choroid plexus, meningeal and vascular fibrosis, neuronal loss, decreased neuronal regenerative capacity, lipofuscin buildup, intracytoplasmic inclusion formation, and diffuse β-amyloid plaque formation–specifically in the frontal cortex and hippocampal regions.
Several studies have suggested a significant correlation between β-amyloid deposition and the severity of cognitive dysfunction in aged canines, similar to that which occurs in humans with Alzheimer’s disease though the exact mechanisms between these changes and the development of cognitive dysfunction syndrome in canines is yet to be fully established.
Other areas such as visual discrimination and frontal function of the brain maintained performance in antioxidant enriched diets. However, in aged dogs with untreated diets there was a significant decline. Dogs subjected to both antioxidant-enriched diets as well as behavioral enrichment showed superior improvements compared to either treatment alone.
Adv Food Technol Nutr Sci Open J. 2018; 4(2): e6-e8. doi: 10.17140/AFTNSOJ-4-e014
