The latest advance in comparative neurology comes from the University of Edinburgh, where researchers conducted a post-mortem study of 25 cats that had shown cognitive decline. The European Journal of Neuroscience paper stated that the animals developed brain changes “astonishingly similar” to human Alzheimer’s disease, including deposits of the toxic protein beta-amyloid, BBC News reported.
Investigators examined cats whose owners and veterinarians had documented confusion, sleep disruption and increased vocalisation. Using high-resolution microscopy, the team found clusters of beta-amyloid within synapses, the junctions through which nerve cells communicate. Loss of these connections correlated with memory and behavioural deterioration, a pattern long associated with human Alzheimer’s.
The research involved scientists from the Universities of Edinburgh and California, the UK Dementia Research Institute and Scottish Brain Sciences. They observed that astrocytes and microglia engulfed damaged synapses in a process called synaptic pruning; when excessive, the process compounded the loss triggered by beta-amyloid.
“Our findings show striking similarities between feline dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in people,” said Dr. Robert I. McGeachan. “This opens the door to exploring whether promising new treatments for human Alzheimer’s disease could also help our ageing pets.”
Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore, a veterinary specialist in feline medicine at the University of Edinburgh, addressed the emotional toll. “Feline dementia is so distressing for the cat and for its person,” she said. “By conducting studies of this kind, we will understand how to best treat those suffering. This will be wonderful for cats, their owners, people with Alzheimer's, and their loved ones,” The Independent reported.
Symptoms recorded in the study ranged from persistent meowing and disorientation to diminished grooming, nighttime wakefulness and inappropriate elimination. The list also included excessive sleeping, rapid food requests and episodes of blank staring, reinforcing the shared disease mechanism.
Around 50 million people live with dementia worldwide, and treatments that clear beta-amyloid have shown modest success in slowing human progression. The Edinburgh team argued that because cats develop the condition naturally and share households with people, they offer a useful model for testing future therapies. “Feline dementia is the perfect natural model for Alzheimer's—everyone benefits,” concluded Gunn-Moore.
The preparation of this article relied on a news-analysis system.