Diet enriched with antioxidants, mitochondrial cofactors and omega-3 fatty acids on telomere length and joint mobility in young and old shepherd dogs
A randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled study fed 36 young and 38 old shepherd dogs either a diet enriched with antioxidants, mitochondrial cofactors and omega-3 fatty acids or a control diet, on the premise that aging-related oxidative stress could be counteracted by such a diet. Telomere length and joint kinematics from computer-assisted gait analysis were measured at the outset and after 3 and 6 months. In old dogs the enriched diet had a positive effect on minimum telomere length and on shoulder joint mobility after 6 months, with smaller or contrary effects in other joints and in young dogs.
Record
| Design | randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Status | completed |
| Intervention | Diet enriched with antioxidants, mitochondrial cofactors and omega-3 fatty acids |
| Intervention class | diet or supplement |
| Comparator | Control diet |
| Duration | 6 months (measurements at the outset, after 3 and after 6 months) |
| Dogs | 74 |
| Population note | 36 young and 38 old shepherd dogs |
| Breed | shepherd dogs |
| Age | young and old (ages not stated in the abstract) |
| Primary outcome | Mean and minimum telomere lengths; minimum and maximum joint angles and range of motion of the shoulder, elbow, carpal, hip, stifle and tarsal joints by computer-assisted gait analysis |
| Result (as reported) | A positive influence of the enriched diet on old dogs could be verified for minimum telomere length and all three parameters of the shoulder joint on the side with the higher vertical ground reaction force after 6 months. In the other joints there were less significant differences; in some cases they indicated a contrary influence of the enriched diet on young dogs, probably due to its reduced protein content. |
| Tags | diet, supplement, antioxidant, omega-3, telomere, mobility, gait |
Notes: No full text in the corpus; exact ages, diet composition and setting are not stated in the abstract. The total n of 74 is the sum of 36 young and 38 old dogs.
Sources and verbatim quotes
Effect of antioxidants, mitochondrial cofactors and omega-3 fatty acids on telomere length and kinematic joint mobility in young and old shepherd dogs - A randomized, blinded and placebo-controlled study. (2020) PMID 32000015 (results)
In dogs, decreasing telomere length is a biomarker for cellular aging.
As aging is thought to be related to oxidative stress, it may be counteracted by a diet enriched with antioxidants, mitochondrial cofactors and omega-3 fatty acids.
This randomized, blinded and placebo-controlled study examined the influence of an accordingly enriched diet compared to a control diet on 36 young and 38 old shepherd dogs.
At the outset, after 3 and after 6 months, mean and minimum telomere lengths were measured.
Furthermore, minimum and maximum joint angles and range of motion of the shoulder, elbow, carpal, hip, stifle and tarsal joints were measured by computer-assisted gait analysis.
A positive influence of the enriched diet on old dogs could be verified for minimum telomere length and all three parameters of the shoulder joint on the side with the higher vertical ground reaction force after 6 months.
In the other joints there were less significant differences; in some cases they indicated a contrary influence of the enriched diet on young dogs, probably due to its reduced protein content.
For elderly dogs it is advisable to feed these nutritional supplements.
Reproduce: canine_trial_search(trial_id="antioxidant-omega3-enriched-diet-telomere-mobility-shepherd-dogs-2020") in dog-geroscience-mcp; dataset canine-trial-registry.