Shorter stride length in senior dog may indicate dementia, similar to human: Study

A shorter stride between front legs of a senior dog could be an early warning sign of dementia similar to how a reduced step length is a sign of cognitive decline among humans according to a studyChanges to stride are thought to be driven by a deterioration in the function of the brains frontal cortex and the cerebellum responsible for planning and monitoring movement researchers saidResults published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science indicate that a 10point increase in dementia score of a dog may translate into a 12 per cent reduction in the relative stride length of the front legsThey also suggest that a change in stride length of ones pet should prompt owners to seek veterinary help earlierHere we show that the length of front leg stride taken by dogs decreases with age but even more importantly decreases with a cognitive impairment In fact we found that the effect of cognitive decline is larger than the effect of age by itself lead author Natasha J Olby a professor of veterinary neurology and neurosurgery at North Carolina State University US saidThe researchers followed 88 senior and geriatric dogs females and males and purebred or mixed breed as part of the Longitudinal Study of Canine Neuroaging who were enrolled upon reaching 75 per cent of the life expectancy for their size and breed corresponding to 127 years old on averageFor the remainder of their lives the dogs were studied three days every six months and underwent a comprehensive battery of physical neurological physiological and orthopedic examinations including tests for cognition mobility vision hearing and strengthOwners responded to questionnaires such as the Canine Dementia Scale CADES to measure cognitive impairment and the Canine Brief Pain Inventory CBPI to assess chronic painWhile the relative stride length of the front legs were seen to decrease across visits detailed analyses showed that the reduction was not driven to a significant extent by increasing age itself when age and cognition were included in the same statistical modelRather the relative stride length decreased with worsening CADES dementia scores indicating that as dogs age greater cognitive decline results in shorter strides of the front legs the researchers saidThe relative stride length of the hind legs did not significantly change over time either in association with greater chronological age or worsening cognitive performanceIt is fascinating to see that cognitive decline affects front legs and hind legs differently In dogs the hind legs are important for moving forwards while the front legs also change direction and initiate braking Olby saidThe cerebral cortex integrates more sensory information into the neuronal circuits which produce steps in the front legs and so loss of highlevel sensorimotor integration affects them differently the lead author saidThe relative stride length of the front legs also decreased with higher CBPI ratings meaning that chronic pain further worsens the gait the researchers saidFront leg stride length may thus be an objective measure of mobility reflecting changes associated with agerelated cognitive decline they saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever