title: Octodon degus: a model for the cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Octodon degus (O. degus) is a diurnal rodent that spontaneously develops several physiopathological conditions, analogous in many cases to those experienced by humans. In light of this, O. degus has recently been identified as a very valuable animal model for research in several medical fields, especially those concerned with neurodegenerative diseases in which risk is associated with aging. Octodon degus spontaneously develops β-amyloid deposits analogous to those observed in some cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Moreover, these deposits are thought to be the key feature for AD diagnosis, and one of the suggested causes of cell loss and cognitive deficit. This review aims to bring together information to support O. degus as a valuable model for the study of AD.
authors.affiliation: Clinical & Experimental Neuroscience (NiCE) and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), School of Health Sciences (Medicine), University Jaume I of Castellon, Castellon de la Plana, Spain.
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tarragon
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Estrada
authors.forename: Gonzalez-Cuello
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Ana
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schenker
authors.forename: Fabien
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pifferi
authors.forename: Regis
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bordet
authors.forename: Jill C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Maria Trinidad
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Herrero
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D046329:Octodon
chemical_list: D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides
keywords: Alzheimer disease; Amyloid beta-protein; Memory; Mild Cognitive Impairment; Octodon degus