Age-Related Brain Atrophy and the Positive Effects of Behavioral Enrichment in Middle-Aged Beagles.
J Neurosci
; 44(20)2024 May 15.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38561226
ABSTRACT
Aging dogs serve as a valuable preclinical model for Alzheimer's disease (AD) due to their natural age-related development of ß-amyloid (Aß) plaques, human-like metabolism, and large brains that are ideal for studying structural brain aging trajectories from serial neuroimaging. Here we examined the effects of chronic treatment with the calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) tacrolimus or the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT)-inhibiting compound Q134R on age-related canine brain atrophy from a longitudinal study in middle-aged beagles (36 females, 7 males) undergoing behavioral enrichment. Annual MRI was analyzed using modern, automated techniques for region-of-interest-based and voxel-based volumetric assessments. We found that the frontal lobe showed accelerated atrophy with age, while the caudate nucleus remained relatively stable. Remarkably, the hippocampus increased in volume in all dogs. None of these changes were influenced by tacrolimus or Q134R treatment. Our results suggest that behavioral enrichment can prevent atrophy and increase the volume of the hippocampus but does not prevent aging-associated prefrontal cortex atrophy.
Mots clés
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Atrophie
/
Encéphale
/
Vieillissement
/
Tacrolimus
Limites:
Animals
Langue:
En
Journal:
J Neurosci
Année:
2024
Type de document:
Article
Pays de publication:
États-Unis d'Amérique