FORT COLLINS, COLORADO — The Dog Aging Project, co-founded by biologist Matt Kaeberlein in 2014, has enrolled more than 50,000 dogs for study. The project investigates how dementia and other age-related diseases progress in dogs to understand human aging.
Researchers collect data on enrolled dogs' diets and exercise, analyze blood samples, and conduct brain MRIs. They also track cognitive changes in aging dogs through memory and spatial orientation tests. Project data collection occurs at veterinary clinics and hospitals across the country, including Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Kaeberlein said, "The biology of aging is so conserved or shared across the animal kingdom. Much of this works the same way in dogs. Much of it works the same way in people." McGrath said, "Cancer, dementia, all these diseases that we see as humans age occur in dogs." Dogs have shorter lifespans than humans because they age at a faster rate. McGrath said, "We can get a ton of information that would take decades to do in humans."
Dogs share living environments with humans, including exposure to the same food, water, and exercise routines. Canines with dementia exhibit confusion and spatial disorientation, such as staring at walls and leaning against objects, which is similar to human symptoms. Keene said, "This happens to people. It's not just memory when we start to have dementia. Dementia's a very complex thing that includes confusion; it includes the loss of the ability to remember sort of spatial references."
The Dog Aging Project's database has contributed to more than 50 scientific studies examining links between lifestyle factors and disease risk. Studies using project data indicate that dogs that do not exercise have a six times greater likelihood of developing dementia. The data also suggests that dogs living with other dogs experience fewer diseases. Data collected by the project is stored in a public database accessible to researchers globally. Deceased dogs in the project donate their brains for neuropathological examination.
Dog owner Pat Schultz enrolled her 12-year-old German shepherd-poodle mix, Murphy, in the project after her husband developed Alzheimer's disease. Murphy displayed anxiety and difficulty completing memory tasks during testing, which researchers identified as a potential indicator of dementia. A 14-year-old dog named Ralph exhibited signs of advanced dementia during testing, including disorientation and task abandonment.