Magnetic resonance imaging of cerebral involutional changes in dogs as markers of aging: an innovative tool adapted from a human visual rating scale.
The dog is increasingly considered as a natural animal model for the study of normal and pathological human brain aging, because it exhibits anatomical, biochemical and cognitive changes that parallel those seen in humans. This study presents a novel visual semi-quantitative rating scale of canine cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Ninety-eight dogs of both sexes from 27 pure breeds, aged 2-15 years, were used. The results suggest that (like in humans) both hippocampal and progressive global atrophy are characteristic features that correlate with aging. When classified according to head shape, cerebral atrophy was highest in mesaticephalic and brachycephalic dogs. This is the first MRI study to characterise a simple, rapid tool for studying age-related canine brain changes that can even be applied by non-experienced observers. The results confirm the possibility of transferring innovative tools developed for human diagnosis to the veterinary field.
Pugliese
Marco
M
Unitat de Bioquímica, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. marcopugliese@ub.edu
Carrasco
Josep Lluís
JL
Gomez-Anson
Beatriz
B
Andrade
Carmen
C
Zamora
Angels
A
Rodríguez
Manuel José
MJ
Mascort
Joan
J
Mahy
Nicole
N
D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D001284:Atrophy / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary; D054022:Cerebrum / Q000473:pathology*; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male