Canine Geriatric Syndrome: A Framework for Advancing Research in Veterinary Geroscience

Abstract

Biological aging is the single most important risk factor for disease, disability, and ultimately death in geriatric dogs. The effects of aging in companion dogs also impose significant financial and psychological burdens on their human caregivers. The underlying physiologic processes of canine aging may be occult, or early signs of aging may be ignored because of the misconception that biological aging is natural and therefore inevitable. The ability to detect, quantify, and mitigate the deleterious processes of canine aging would greatly enhance veterinary preventative medicine and animal welfare. In this paper we propose a new conceptual framework for aging in dogs, the Canine Geriatric Syndrome (CGS). CGS consists of the multiple, interrelated physical, functional, behavioral, and metabolic changes that characterize canine aging as well as the resulting clinical manifestations, including frailty, diminished quality of life, and age-associated disease. We also identify potential key components of a CGS assessment tool, a clinical instrument that would enable veterinarians to diagnose CGS and would facilitate the development and testing of interventions to prolong healthspan and lifespan in dogs by directly targeting the biological mechanisms of aging. There are many gaps in our knowledge of the mechanisms and phenotype of aging in dogs that must be bridged before a CGS assessment tool can be deployed. The conceptual framework of CGS should facilitate identifying these gaps and should stimulate research to better characterize the processes and effects of aging in dogs and to identify the most promising preventative strategies to target these.

A review of frailty instruments in human medicine and proposal of a frailty instrument for dogs

“…Similarly, as the geriatric veterinary patient population expands, due to progress in diagnostic capability and therapeutic options that improve the overall management of pet health ( 72 ), the need for a clinically applicable frailty score in veterinary medicine is becoming clear. Age is the greatest risk factor for the development of frailty and, perhaps because of this strong association, the development of frailty and other age-related diseases within an aging individual is often viewed as inevitable ( 66 ). The belief that age alone is the cause of poor health outcomes may lead owners to forego opportunities to investigate actual underlying causes and provide potential interventions.…”

“…QoL questionnaires frequently capture a range of domains that are closely aligned with frailty and demonstrate the feasibility of companion animal frailty assessment by owner-reported metrics. Taking it a step further, McKenzie et al proposed a Canine Geriatric Syndrome as a framework to evaluate physical, functional, behavioral, and metabolic changes in aging dogs to better understand and investigate the biological aging process; frailty is one of the proposed components of the syndrome ( 66 ). Despite this, the study of frailty in veterinary medicine, and specifically in dogs, is still in its infancy.…”

Winning the race with aging: age-related changes in gait speed and its association with cognitive performance in dogs

“…Canine geriatric syndrome has been proposed as a new concept that describes "the constellation of key physical, functional, and metabolic changes that characterize aging in dogs and predispose to age-related dysfunction, disease, and death" (1). Some of the most remarkable age-related changes associated with this syndrome occur in motor and cognitive function (1,2). Physical impairments and slowing of movement reflect the diminished performance of numerous systems, such as musculoskeletal system, central and peripheral nervous system, and sensory organs (3)(4)(5).…”

“…Canine geriatric syndrome has been proposed as a new concept that describes “the constellation of key physical, functional, and metabolic changes that characterize aging in dogs and predispose to age-related dysfunction, disease, and death” ( 1 ). Some of the most remarkable age-related changes associated with this syndrome occur in motor and cognitive function ( 1 , 2 ).…”

Gut microbiota profiling in aged dogs after feeding pet food contained Hericium erinaceus

“…As dogs receive more care, their health and lifespan expand, which increases the geriatric population of dogs [ 1 ]. Like humans, dogs experience age-associated changes in a variety of physiological and metabolic aspects [ 2 ]. To maintain homeostasis in body systems it is important to provide essential and balanced nutrients.…”