Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Preparation of Acute Hippocampal Slices from Rats and Transgenic Mice for the Study of Synaptic Alterations during Aging and Amyloid Pathology
Published on: March 23, 2011
White matter myelin loss in the brains of aged dogs
James Kenn Chambers1, Kazuyuki Uchida, Hiroyuki Nakayama
1Department of Veterinary Pathology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. achamber@mail.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Abstract:
The significance of cerebral white matter (WM) demyelination in the cognitive decline of elderly humans is disputed. Cognitive decline also occurs in aged dogs, although the age-related changes that occur in the canine cerebral WM are yet to be studied, particularly with regard to their relevance to the WM alterations of elderly humans. The present study revealed age-dependent myelin loss in the frontal lobe WM of canine brains. The accumulation of ceroid-lipofuscin-laden phagocytes was observed in the perivascular spaces of the WM and was correlated with the decrease in myelination. Also, myelin basic protein was detected in some of the vacuoles of these phagocytes. In the WM, beta-amyloid (Aβ) was deposited focally in capillary walls, and colocalized with apolipoprotein E (Apo E). Note that the dog is homozygous for Apo E4, which genotype is related to capillary CAA in humans. These findings indicate that WM demyelination occurs in aged dogs as well as in aged humans, hence WM alterations may account for age-related behavioral changes of the dog. In conclusion, dogs are useful for chronological studies of age-related WM changes.
More Related Videos
15:263D Modeling of the Lateral Ventricles and Histological Characterization of Periventricular Tissue in Humans and Mouse
Published on: May 19, 2015
09:29Isolation of Intermediate Filament Proteins from Multiple Mouse Tissues to Study Aging-associated Post-translational Modifications
Published on: May 18, 2017
Related Concept Videos
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
The Effect of Aging on Tissues
Nervous Tissue: Myelin
Schwann cells begin to form myelin sheaths around axons during fetal development. They wrap around a small...
Dementia l: Introduction