Behavioral enrichment with tacrolimus or Q134R in middle-aged beagles: longitudinal MRI brain atrophy study
A longitudinal study followed 43 middle-aged beagles (36 females, 7 males) undergoing behavioral enrichment and chronically treated with tacrolimus or Q134R, with annual MRI analysed by automated regional and voxel-based volumetrics. The frontal lobe atrophied at an accelerating rate with age, the caudate nucleus stayed relatively stable, and the hippocampus increased in volume in all dogs. Neither drug influenced these changes, which the authors attribute to behavioral enrichment preventing hippocampal atrophy without preventing prefrontal atrophy.
Record
| Design | longitudinal cohort |
|---|---|
| Status | completed |
| Intervention | Chronic treatment with the calcineurin inhibitor tacrolimus or the NFAT-inhibiting compound Q134R, in dogs undergoing behavioral enrichment |
| Intervention class | combination |
| Dogs | 43 |
| Population note | 36 females, 7 males |
| Breed | Beagle |
| Age | middle-aged |
| Primary outcome | Age-related brain atrophy on annual MRI (region-of-interest-based and voxel-based volumetrics of frontal lobe, caudate nucleus and hippocampus) |
| Result (as reported) | We found that the frontal lobe showed accelerated atrophy with age, while the caudate nucleus remained relatively stable. Remarkably, the hippocampus increased in volume in all dogs. None of these changes were influenced by tacrolimus or Q134R treatment. Our results suggest that behavioral enrichment can prevent atrophy and increase the volume of the hippocampus but does not prevent aging-associated prefrontal cortex atrophy. |
| Tags | brain-aging, enrichment, mri, beagle, tacrolimus, q134r, longitudinal |
Notes: Kind follows the abstract's wording (a longitudinal study in middle-aged beagles undergoing behavioral enrichment); the study also chronically treats dogs with tacrolimus or Q134R, but the abstract does not describe the treatment arms, comparator, dosing or study length, so those fields are null. Separate from the earlier aged-beagle antioxidant/enrichment study.
Sources and verbatim quotes
Age-Related Brain Atrophy and the Positive Effects of Behavioral Enrichment in Middle-Aged Beagles. (2024) PMID 38561226 (results)
Here we examined the effects of chronic treatment with the calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) tacrolimus or the nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT)-inhibiting compound Q134R on age-related canine brain atrophy from a longitudinal study in middle-aged beagles (36 females, 7 males) undergoing behavioral enrichment.
Annual MRI was analyzed using modern, automated techniques for region-of-interest-based and voxel-based volumetric assessments.
We found that the frontal lobe showed accelerated atrophy with age, while the caudate nucleus remained relatively stable. Remarkably, the hippocampus increased in volume in all dogs. None of these changes were influenced by tacrolimus or Q134R treatment.
Our results suggest that behavioral enrichment can prevent atrophy and increase the volume of the hippocampus but does not prevent aging-associated prefrontal cortex atrophy.
Reproduce: canine_trial_search(trial_id="beagle-middle-aged-enrichment-tacrolimus-q134r-brain-atrophy") in dog-geroscience-mcp; dataset canine-trial-registry.