Araujo Joseph A, Studzinski Christa M, Head Elizabeth, Cotman Carl W, Milgram Norton W
Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario Canada.
Age (Dordr). 2005 Mar;27(1):27-37. doi: 10.1007/s11357-005-4001-z. Epub 2005 May 2.
The present review focuses on the utility of a canine model in evaluating nutritional interventions for age-related cognitive dysfunction. Aged dogs demonstrate progressive cognitive decline with concurrent amyloid-beta pathology that parallels the pathology observed in aging humans. Dogs, therefore, provide a natural model of human pathological aging. We have and are in the process of evaluating several nutritional-based interventions aimed at preventing cognitive decline and brain aging. In a three-year longitudinal study, we examined the effects of a diet enriched with antioxidants and mitochondrial cofactors on several measures of cognition and brain aging. Compared to controls, aged dogs on the enriched diet demonstrated both short- and long-term cognitive benefits, as well decreased deposition of amyloid-beta protein. The diet also reduced behavioral signs associated with canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome when assessed in veterinary clinical trials. We also have preliminary evidence suggesting a beneficial effect of a proprietary blend of docosahexaenoic acid and phospholipids on both cognitive and physiological measures. Collectively, our data indicate (1) that the dog, either in the laboratory or in the clinic, provides an important tool for assessing nutritional interventions and (2) that combination interventions aimed at several mechanisms of pathological aging may prove more effective than single nutritive components in human trials.
本综述聚焦于犬类模型在评估针对与年龄相关的认知功能障碍的营养干预措施方面的效用。老年犬表现出渐进性认知衰退，同时伴有β-淀粉样蛋白病变，这与在老年人类中观察到的病理情况相似。因此，犬类提供了人类病理性衰老的天然模型。我们已经并正在评估几种旨在预防认知衰退和脑衰老的基于营养的干预措施。在一项为期三年的纵向研究中，我们研究了富含抗氧化剂和线粒体辅因子的饮食对认知和脑衰老的几项指标的影响。与对照组相比，食用富含营养饮食的老年犬在短期和长期认知方面均有益处，同时β-淀粉样蛋白的沉积也有所减少。在兽医临床试验中评估时，该饮食还减少了与犬类认知功能障碍综合征相关的行为症状。我们也有初步证据表明，二十二碳六烯酸和磷脂的专利混合物对认知和生理指标均有有益影响。总体而言，我们的数据表明：（1）无论是在实验室还是在临床环境中，犬类都是评估营养干预措施的重要工具；（2）在人体试验中，针对病理性衰老的多种机制的联合干预措施可能比单一营养成分更有效。
