Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have found that house cats could have the key to developing new Alzheimer's therapies.
A post-mortem analysis of 25 cats that had exhibited dementia-like behaviors while alive including confusion, disturbed sleep, and hyper-vocalization found that their brains also had a common characteristic of Alzheimer's disease in humans: amyloid-beta protein buildup in the synapses.
Unlike genetically altered mice commonly used in scientific studies, cats create such changes without the need for genetic engineering, so they are, according to scientists involved in the study, "the perfect natural model for Alzheimer's." This might render feline dementia a priceless key to understanding the disease in humans.
Synapses, through which messages are transmitted between brain cells, play an important role in memory and thought. In individuals with Alzheimer's and cats with dementia, amyloid-beta accumulation causes synapse degeneration, which disrupts cognitive functions.
The team also saw that two groups of brain support cells, astrocytes and microglia, were both actively engulfing amyloid-loaded synapses in a process known as synaptic pruning. As critical pruning during early development, in older brains it can exacerbate dementia symptoms.
Lead author Robert McGeachan, from Edinburgh's Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, emphasized the twin advantage of this finding:
Because cats naturally undergo these changes in the brain, they may also provide a better model of the disease than conventional laboratory animals, ultimately helping both the species and their owners."
The study not only explains how amyloid-beta influences feline thought, but also highlights the potential for subjecting potential treatments for human Alzheimer's to trial in ageing cats enhancing the lives of both species.
Feline medicine expert Danielle Gunn-Moore, at the same institution, said the research could be the "light at the end of the tunnel" for many.
Feline dementia is so upsetting to the cat and its owner. It is by conducting studies such as this that we will know how best to treat them. This will be great for the cats, their owners, people with Alzheimer's and their carers.
With this discovery, researchers believe that therapies that would potentially slow or even halt dementia development in both species are now feasible, closing the gap between human and veterinary medicine in a way previously unimaginable.
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