Secret Formula Could Extend Pets' Lives
L O N D O N, Sept. 11, 2001 -- Researchers have come up with a scientific "super-food" that they say will allow cats and dogs to live longer by making them more resistant to disease.
The Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition in Leicestershire, England, unveiled the special formula, an anti-oxidant cocktail of vitamins and amino acids, during the British Association science festival at Glasgow University in Scotland on Friday.
A patent for the food is still pending, and Waltham researchers are mum about its ingredients, but the blend is expected to hit the market within a year.
The pet food company says it perfected the formula while running nutrition trials on cats and dogs over the last two years. It could create a fountain of youth for the 62.4 million dogs and 64.2 million cats that are kept as pets in the United States, and might even provide clues for improving human health.
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The Waltham study found that dogs who chowed down on the special blend over a two-month period incurred 26 percent less DNA damage than dogs who ate a regular diet, while cats had 17 percent less DNA damage compared to their peers who did not eat the super-food.
"It should slow down the aging process in that it should make them more resistant to disease so that they'll live longer," Hurley said. Scientists will have to do further studies and examine the animals over time to find out the actual effects and how many years might be added to pets' lives.
Damaged DNA Makes Pets Age
The average life expectancies for dogs or cats ranges between 10 and 15 years, depending on care and breeds.
Scientists say damaged DNA hastens the aging process in pets, and fuels age-related diseases, including cancer, arthritis, cataracts, diabetes, kidney disease and the weakening of the immune system. The latter is particularly important to cats, as they are particularly susceptible to viral infections.
DNA in the cells of cats and dogs is damaged continually because of free radicals generated by their bodies' own metabolism, the study found. Pollution, sunlight and stress also contribute to the damage.
As with humans, cats and dogs have defense mechanisms to protect their DNA. The primary defense is antioxidants, either special enzymes, or scavengers, such as vitamins E and C, which help mop up those free radicals. The Waltham blend is a mix of vitamins and amino acids that occur naturally in food, but it is specially blended and more potent than what would be found in food alone.
It's not far off from human nutrition research. Experts have long been touting the benefit of anti-oxidants in the diet, suggesting that we eat green leafy vegetables, for instance, as a way to fight off diseases such as cancer.
Gauging the Damage
Scientists have only recently found a way to measure the DNA damage in animals. In humans it is measured through what is called the Comet Assay test. For pets, Waltham has developed an analogous test called the Waltham DNA Health index.
To test a pet's DNA damage, scientists place a sample of dog or cat white blood cells in an electric current. Through a process called electrophoresis, the electric current draws the DNA out of the cells. The more damaged the DNA, the further it moves from the cells. The resulting smear looks like a comet and its tail. Cells with the most damaged DNA have the longest tails.
In theory, the blend should work for other animals, but researchers haven't tested it out on any other types yet, Hurley said.