Q: Is there a way to ensure my dog will live longer?
A: The Dog Aging Project out of the University of Washington is on a mission to find the inner workings of the aging process in dogs and learn how to slow it down.
The initiative, established in 2018, combines the efforts of dog owners, veterinarians and researchers to tackle one of dog owners' greatest grievances: the short life span of man's best friend.
Since dogs age at roughly seven times the rate of humans, the window for understanding how dogs age and develop disease is significantly narrower, according to the study published Feb. 2 in Nature. The study also includes researchers at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.
The next phase of the study will introduce a clinical trial of a drug that might help slow down age-related ailments in dogs, helping them live longer. The drug, rapamycin, is an immunosuppressive medication that has been used in humans for decades, according to a new release for the Dog Aging Project. "At lower doses, rapamycin has been shown to increase lifespan, improve heart and cognitive function, and reduce age-related disease incidence in laboratory species."
Now, researchers think it may benefit dogs, too. So they're putting it to the test, which will take at least 10 years. So far, more than 32,000 dogs have been enrolled in the study.
"Relatively little is known about what constitutes normative aging in dogs," Dr. Kate Creevy, lead author and Dog Aging Project chief veterinary officer, said in the news release. "Our data will give veterinarians and scientists the tools to assess how well a specific dog is aging and set the stage for studies on the determinants of normative aging."
The drug trial won't be the only part of the study. Participating veterinarians also will submit fur, fecal, urine and blood samples of select participants to help the team determine aging milestones in dogs.
