The research conducted by the University of Edinburgh revealed that cats exhibiting symptoms such as confusion, sleep disturbances, and increased meowing suffer from similar brain changes. Researchers, in their study published in the journal, confirmed that feline dementia might contribute to the development of human treatments that can also be applied to animals.
Examinations conducted by scientists on the brains of 25 cats showed the accumulation of toxic beta-amyloid protein, characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, inside and around nerve cells, disrupting communication between them and affecting memory and behavior, just as it occurs in humans.
Researchers believe that cats represent a more accurate model than rodents for studying Alzheimer’s due to the similarity of their brains to human brains, which could aid in testing anti-amyloid drugs. This would benefit not only cats and their owners but also human patients and their families.
