Enhancing brain functions in senior dogs: a new nutritional approach

Aging induces many morphological and metabolic changes in the brain, which may eventually lead to cognitive impairment and dementia called cognitive dysfunction syndrome in senior dogs. Cognitive impairment and dementia can adversely affect the quality of life in both dogs and their owners. Progress has been made over the past years to understand how aging affects brain and its functions in humans and animals including dogs. Existing data indicate that aging-induced changes in the brain are gradual and irreversible. Therefore, it is too late to effectively manage dogs with cognitive impairment and cognitive dysfunction syndrome. The best option to manage brain aging successfully is to reduce or prevent aging-induced changes in the brain by correcting early metabolic changes and eliminating risk factors associated with brain aging and dementia. This article reviews behavioral, morphological, and metabolic changes in the brain induced by aging and discusses a novel nutritional solution for the aging-induced metabolic changes in the brain.