Abstract:
Canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) is a disorder found in senior dogs that is typically defined by the development of specific behavioral signs which are attributed to pathological brain aging and no other medical causes. One way of objectively characterizing CDS is with the use of validated neuropsychological test batteries in aged Beagle dogs, which are a natural model of this condition. This study used a series of neuropsychological tests to evaluate the effectiveness of supplementation with a novel lipid extract containing porcine brain-derived sphingolipids (Biosfeen®) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for attenuating cognitive deficits in aged Beagles. Two groups (n = 12), balanced for baseline cognitive test performance, received a daily oral dose of either test supplement, or placebo over a 6-month treatment phase. Cognitive function was evaluated using the following tasks: delayed non-matching to position (DNMP), selective attention, discrimination learning retention, discrimination reversal learning, and spatial discrimination acquisition and reversal learning. The effect of the supplement on brain metabolism using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was also examined. A significant decline (p = 0.02) in DNMP performance was seen in placebo-treated dogs, but not in dogs receiving the supplement, suggesting attenuation of working memory performance decline. Compared to placebo, the supplemented group also demonstrated significantly improved (p = 0.01) performance on the most difficult pattern of the spatial discrimination task and on reversal learning of the same pattern (p = 0.01), potentially reflecting improved spatial recognition and executive function, respectively. MRS revealed a significant increase (p = 0.048) in frontal lobe glutamate and glutamine in the treatment group compared to placebo, indicating a physiological change which may be attributed to the supplement. Decreased levels of glutamate and glutamine have been correlated with cognitive decline, suggesting the observed increase in these metabolites might be linked to the positive cognitive effects found in the present study. Results of this study suggest the novel lipid extract may be beneficial for counteracting age-dependent deficits in Beagle dogs and supports further investigation into its use for treatment of CDS. Additionally, due to parallels between canine and human aging, these results might also have applicability for the use of the supplement in human cognitive health.
摘要:
犬认知功能障碍综合征(CDS)是一种在老年犬中发现的疾病,通常由特定行为体征的发展定义,这些体征归因于病理性脑老化而没有其他医学原因。客观表征CDS的一种方法是在老年比格犬中使用经过验证的神经心理学测试电池,这是这种情况的自然模型。这项研究使用了一系列神经心理学测试来评估补充含有猪脑衍生鞘脂(Biosfeen®)和二十二碳六烯酸(DHA)的新型脂质提取物对减轻老年比格犬认知缺陷的有效性。两组(n=12),平衡基线认知测试表现,每天口服两种测试补充剂,或安慰剂在6个月的治疗阶段。使用以下任务评估认知功能:延迟不匹配位置(DNMP),选择性注意,歧视学习保留,歧视反转学习,空间歧视习得和反转学习。还使用磁共振波谱(MRS)检查了补充剂对脑代谢的影响。在安慰剂治疗的狗中观察到DNMP性能的显着下降(p=0.02)。但不是在接受补充剂的狗身上,表明工作记忆性能下降的衰减。与安慰剂相比,补充组还表现出显着改善(p=0.01)在空间辨别任务的最困难模式和相同模式的反转学习(p=0.01)的性能,潜在地反映了改进的空间识别和执行功能,分别。MRS显示,与安慰剂相比,治疗组的额叶谷氨酸和谷氨酰胺显着增加(p=0.048),表明可能归因于补充剂的生理变化。谷氨酸和谷氨酰胺水平的降低与认知能力下降有关,表明观察到的这些代谢物的增加可能与本研究中发现的积极认知效应有关。这项研究的结果表明,新型脂质提取物可能有助于抵消比格犬的年龄依赖性缺陷,并支持对其用于治疗CDS的进一步研究。此外,由于犬和人类衰老之间的相似之处,这些结果也可能适用于在人类认知健康中使用补充剂。