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Treating (and Maybe Preventing) Alzheimer's in Dogs and Cats

March 24, 2003 - Reproduced with the kind permission of Shawn Messonnier DVM, author of The Arthritis Solution for Dogs, The Allergy Solution for Dogs, and the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Check out Dr. Shawn's Holistic Pet column each week in your local newspaper, distributed by Knight Ridder News Service or visit his website Pet Care Naturally. Alzheimer's disease is a devastating progressive neurological disorder of older men and women. A comparative disease occurs in dogs and cats and is called canine and feline cognitive disorder (doggie and kitty Alzheimer's) respectively. As in people, it is most commonly seen in older pets. It is estimated to affect 10 million to 15 million pets in the U.S. alone. Microscopically, beta amyloid plaques within the brain and its blood vessels are seen (as in people with Alzheimer's.) Recently, the drug AniprylR has been approved for treating cognitive disorder in dogs. While effective in some patients, the drug can have rare side effects. If effective, Anipryl must be used for the life of the dog. Since the medication is expensive, a less expensive option might be preferred. One safer, less expensive alternative that I have been using in my practice for many years is the B vitamin supplement Cholodin. Cholodin contains the B vitamin choline, phosphatidylcholine, methionine and inositol. Recently, in an attempt to quantify response to Cholodin, the manufacturer asked me to perform a study using the supplement in dogs and cats. The results of these two studies are presented here. Twenty-one dogs of various breeds were enrolled in the study. The age of the participants ranged from 10 to 16 years of age. Nine neutered males and 12 spayed females were enrolled in the study. At the beginning of the study, owners were asked to identify any problems commonly associated with cognitive disorder. The following abnormal signs were reported by pet owners: Deafness Lethargy/lack of energy Excess sleep (sleeps a lot during the day) House-training problems (usually urinating inside the house) Staring at the wall Occasional lack of recognition of the owner Lack of awareness of surroundings A blood profile including a T4 test was performed prior to the start of the study. Each pet was supplied with a two-month supply of Cholodin to be administered according to label instructions. At the end of a 30-day period of treatment, the dosage was doubled if improvement was not seen. The results were tabulated with the following scoring system. Pets were scored as no response to the supplement, minimal response, moderate response (up to 50 percent better) and significant response (greater than 50 percent improvement in clinical signs.) The results of the study indicated the following: 1 dog showed no response 5 dogs showed minimal response 4 dogs showed moderate response 5 dogs showed significant response 3 dogs was lost to follow-up 1 dog was euthanized for acute liver failure not related to cognitive disorder or the supplement Two dogs, owned by the same owner, showed an exaggerated response and became quite hyperactive, causing the owner to stop the supplement. As a result, the two dogs reverted to showing signs of cognitive disorder, which the owner felt was more desirable than the improved, hyperactive state. The study in cats enrolled 21 cats 10 years of age and older. Owners were invited to enroll their cats in the study if the cats showed any of the following signs: Deafness Lethargy/lack of energy Excess sleep (sleeps a lot during the day) Poor coat (excessive shedding or thin, dry coat) Poor appetite Chronic constipation House-training problems (usually urinating outside of the litter box not related to anxiety behavior problems) Staring at the wall Occasional lack of recognition of the owner Lack of awareness of surroundings As with the canine study, cats were screened with a blood profile prior to entering the study to be certain that underlying disease was not the cause of the clinical signs. The results were tabulated with the following scoring system. Pets were scored as no response to the supplement, minimal response, moderate response (up to 50 percent better), and significant response (greater than 50 percent improvement in clinical signs.) The results of the study indicated the following: 5 cats showed no response 4 cats showed minimal response 5 cats showed moderate response 4 cats showed significant response 1 cat owner did not respond to our follow-up call 2 cats died of unrelated causes during the study Most cats showing no or minimal response had house-training problems as the only complaint from the owners. In most cases this behavior problem was a long-term problem and unlikely to be related to cognitive disorder. The cats showing the greatest response were those showing lethargy and lack of energy, excess sleep, staring at the wall, occasional lack of recognition of the owner, and lack of awareness of the surroundings. These studies showed that supplementation with the B vitamin choline supplement Cholodin is safe and effective for reversing signs of Alzheimer's disease in dogs and cats. My own clinical experience indicates that if given to older pets before clinical signs appear, many pets taking choline supplementation will not develop signs of Alzheimer's disease (cognitive disorder.) Cholodin is safe, inexpensive, and has no significant side effects. As pet owners seek more natural therapy for common diseases, the use of choline supplements such as Cholodin can be recommended. Veterinarian Dr. Shawn Messonnier, author of The Natural Vet series (Prima/Random House,) has just been awarded the Better Health for Life Award by the Cat Writer's Association (CWA) for his latest book in The Natural Vet series, The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats This award, presented by the CWA and peerlesshealth.com, recognizes one book each year which best reflects and promotes a complementary or integrated approach to a cat's emotional or physical needs. The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats was chosen from a large field of entries of pet health books published in 2001. According to Dr. Messonnier, "I am honored that my book was chosen for this distinguished award. In my practice in Plano, Tx, each day I see many positive benefits of integrative medicine holds for my patients. I hope that as veterinarians and pet owners read The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats, many more pet lives will be improved and saved by using the proven therapies I discuss in the book." _____________________________ The information presented at Vitamin-Resource.com is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace the services of a health practitioner licensed in the diagnosis or treatment of illness or disease. Any application of the material in this text is at the reader’s discretion and sole responsibility. If you have a persistent medical condition or your symptoms are severe please consult a physician. Statements on this web site about health conditions and remedies have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 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