Aging and CDS in dogs influence postural control of dogs

The life expectancy of dogs is increasing so that many dogs get very old. Often owners report that their old dogs become increasingly confused - for example, they no longer recognize familiar people, can`t find the food bowl, and have troubles with sleeping through the night. In veterinary medicine, this condition is called Canine Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS). The diagnosis of this disease in dogs is usually made by questionnaires filled out by the owners. This disease is very similar to Alzheimer`s disease in humans and in many studies it has been found that the changes in the brains of these dogs are similar to those found in humans with Alzheimer`s disease. For this reason, dogs are already used in research to examine, for example, the effect of certain drugs to treat human Alzheimer`s disease. These studies are very labor intensive and time consuming, and are usually performed on dogs living in a laboratory setting. Although these laboratory studies are important, it must be remembered that dogs living in a laboratory environment cannot be fully compared to those living in a natural environment (i.e., together with their owners). In addition to the typical symptoms of Alzheimer`s disease in humans, such as increasing forgetfulness, scientists have been able to show that people suffering from Alzheimer`s disease also often have problems with their balance. The ability to maintain balance can be studied relatively easily with so-called pressure measurement plates. With the help of these plates, one can very precisely measure the oscillations of the body while standing. With this project, it will be investigated whether dogs suffering from "canine Alzheimer`s" also suffer from difficulties maintaining their balance. For this purpose, dogs are measured under different conditions when standing on a pressure measuring plate, e.g. when standing uphill and downhill. These different examinations will be performed on young dogs, healthy old dogs and on old dogs suffering from CDS. In addition, we will investigate if the sex and the neutering status of dogs have an influence on the ability to keep balance. In a next step, we will investigate whether the data of the dogs can be compared with those of humans standing on a pressure measurement plate. Since the method used is non-invasive (painless and stress-free for the animals), it can be applied in the future to dogs living with their owners. The aim of this project is to gain important insights into the development, progress and therapy of this syndrome in dogs. Thus, this research project with dogs can also support research in human medicine.