Royal Veterinary College, Department of Clinical Science and Services, Hatfield, United Kingdom; BrainCheck.Pet - Tierärztliche Praxis für Epilepsie, Sachsenstraße, Mannheim, Germany.
Royal Veterinary College, Department of Clinical Science and Services, Hatfield, United Kingdom.
Epilepsy Behav. 2021 Jan;114(Pt A):107608. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2020.107608. Epub 2020 Nov 30.
Cognitive impairments (CI) have recently been identified in canine epilepsy patients. A medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) enriched diet has been demonstrated to improve cognition in aged dogs and seizure control in canine epilepsy. This study evaluates the short-term effects of MCT-oil consumption on cognitive abilities in dogs with epilepsy, a naturally occurring animal model.
A 6-month multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blinded, controlled cross-over diet trial was conducted comparing dietary supplementation (DS) of MCT oil to a control oil. Allocation to dietary oil supplements, consisting of 9% total caloric intake, was block-randomized and supplemented into each dogs' diet for 3 months followed by a respective switch of DS-oil for a further 3 months. Noninvasive cognitive tests and a validated psychometric tool were utilized to evaluate cognitive function and perturbations associated with dietary intervention.
Twenty-nine dogs completed the trial, of which 18 completed noninvasive cognitive testing. Spatial-working memory (P = 0.008), problem-solving ability (P = 0.048), and owner-reported trainability (P = 0.041) were significantly improved during MCT-oil supplementation compared to control-DS.
MCT-oil DS improves cognition in dogs with epilepsy when compared to a control-DS. MCT supplementation may represent a promising option to address CI associated with epilepsy.
最近在患有癫痫的犬类患者中发现了认知障碍（CI）。研究表明，中链甘油三酯（MCT）丰富的饮食可以改善老年犬的认知能力，并控制犬癫痫的发作。本研究评估了 MCT 油短期摄入对癫痫犬认知能力的影响，癫痫是一种自然发生的动物模型。
进行了一项为期 6 个月的多中心、前瞻性、随机、双盲、对照交叉饮食试验，比较了 MCT 油和对照油的膳食补充（DS）。按照 9%总热量摄入的比例进行分配，将 DS 补充到每只狗的饮食中，持续 3 个月，然后再分别切换为 DS 油，再持续 3 个月。使用非侵入性认知测试和经过验证的心理测试工具来评估认知功能和与饮食干预相关的认知障碍。
29 只狗完成了试验，其中 18 只完成了非侵入性认知测试。与对照 DS 相比，MCT 油补充期间空间工作记忆（P=0.008）、解决问题的能力（P=0.048）和主人报告的可训练性（P=0.041）显著提高。
与对照 DS 相比，MCT 油 DS 可改善癫痫犬的认知能力。MCT 补充可能是解决与癫痫相关的 CI 的一种有前途的选择。
