Overview

• The study examined 25 feline brains with documented cognitive dysfunction, identifying beta-amyloid plaques and related neurodegenerative markers.
• Investigators observed microglia and astrocytes actively engulfing damaged synapses in affected felines, a process strongly correlated with amyloid load.
• Cats with cognitive dysfunction exhibited confusion, disrupted sleep patterns, increased vocalization and spatial disorientation similar to human Alzheimer’s symptoms.
• Funded by Wellcome and the UK Dementia Research Institute, the study was published August 11 in the European Journal of Neuroscience with contributions from the University of Edinburgh and University of California.
• Authors propose that naturally aging cats provide a more accurate translational model than genetically modified rodents, calling for therapeutic trials in companion animals.