Scientists chasing longer, healthier lives for humans are taking a hard look at ... dogs. More than 50,000 pets are enrolled in the Dog Aging Project, which tracks everything from their diet and exercise to bloodwork and brain scans. Because dogs develop many of the same age-related illnesses as people, but on a compressed timeline, researchers say they can be used to test theories that would take decades in humans, per CBS News. Early findings from the project mimic findings in humans. For instance, dogs that live with other dogs seem to get sick less often, and sedentary dogs are far more likely to develop dementia-like decline.
Donated pet brains show striking parallels to human Alzheimer's, including brain shrinkage and the same beta amyloid plaques. That overlap is fueling drug trials, including tests of rapamycin, which has extended lifespan in mice, to see if it safely slows cognitive decline and lengthens dogs' lives. Early results indicate dogs given the drug had fewer brain cells associated with inflammation, CBS reports. Some researchers have suggested the drug could have a similar effect in people.
"I think going dogs first is the fastest way to work on and understand the biology of human aging," says Celine Haliou, founder of biotech startup Loyal, which is now testing three aging drugs on older dogs. "Ultimately, dogs show us how small genetic differences between breeds can drive big differences in longevity," giving a Great Pyrenees about 11.5 years on average, but just over five years for a Giant Caucasian Shepherd of similar size, per a BBC report. And as our dogs share our environment, air, water, and often our food, they can tell us more about ourselves than we might initially assume.
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