Background and Purpose of the Trial
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and other dementias in humans are predicted to be the second leading cause of death within the next decade in the United States, according to the World Health Organization. We know that neurodegenerative disorders are associated with the accumulation of disease-specific misfolded proteins that leads to irreversible loss of neurons. This has been seen not only in humans but in the canine equivalent: Canine Cognitive Dysfunction (CCD). Currently, there is not an accurate tool to diagnose nor a single treatment that is effective for doggie dementia. Therefore, the goal of this study is to learn about how dogs age and what types of changes happen in the brain of older dogs, compared to healthy younger dogs, by examining the blood, spinal fluid, and imaging (MRI) of the brain.
Who Qualifies
We are studying dogs of ALL AGES! Any dog over the age of 1 year old, with no major disease processes can participate in this study. Ideally, we will enroll dogs for their lifetime, or for as long as you and your dog are willing to participate.
Study Design
In order to understand more about your dog’s environment and health, we will have you perform yearly surveys. All dogs will be required to return every 6 months throughout the study. Please see below the events that will occur at each appointment.
| Appointment | Description |
| Initial | Surveys, exam, bloodwork, urinalysis, abdominal ultrasound (ONLY if indicated), cognitive behavioral testing, anesthesia for brain MRI and spinal tap + $500.00 credit on VTH account |
| Every 6 months | Surveys, exam, bloodwork for biochemical assay, cognitive behavioral testing. |
| Every 12 months | Surveys, exam, bloodwork, cognitive behavioral testing, anesthesia for brain MRI and spinal tap, + $500.00 credit on VTH account |
Commitment
You will be committed to bringing your dog to CSU for the follow-up appointments every 6 months for as long as you are willing to participate. Additionally, you will be required to bring your dog to CSU in the event of his or her death in order to collect crucial post-mortem samples.
Financial Incentive
All bloodwork and diagnostics are covered by the study. If anything is found that would exclude your pet, you will not be required to pay for those diagnostics. Additionally, you will receive a $500.00 credit to your CSU VTH account at the time of enrollment and at each yearly visit.
Biochemical Assay
The biochemical assay will analyze blood and spinal fluid samples from dogs of all ages with and without signs of naturally occurring cognitive disease. Early stages of neurodegenerative diseases consist of inflammation and misfolded proteins. We will test the ability of the assay to detect targeted biomarkers using blood and spinal fluid from young and aged dogs.
MRI
The brain MRI will serve two main purposes. The first is to rule out structural brain disease that could account for the clinical signs of CCD, which is critical in the dogs showing clinical signs of dementia. Additionally, the MRI in the group of cognitively affected dogs will be analyzed for previously described cognitive changes in dogs (and humans). The second main purpose of the MRI is to collect data from all dogs in order to analyze the utility of using both anatomical MR images and special sequences (DTI, fMRI) in detecting early or late stages of disease.
Cognitive Tests
The aim of the tests is to assess individual differences across functional cognitive domains implicated in CCD. By performing these simple, non-invasive tests, we will analyze the behavioral scores to see if we can use them to differentiate dogs with and without CCD. These tests consist of treat-finding tasks that will help us determine the level of cognitive function. These tests consist of treat-finding tasks that will help us determine cognitive function. Each session takes about 30-45 minutes to complete – it is fun and enjoyable for your dog!