与痴呆有关的狗的听力损失
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北卡罗来纳州立大学的一项新研究探讨了老年犬的听力损失与痴呆症之间的联系。这项工作可以帮助治疗衰老的狗，并了解狗的感觉丧失和认知功能之间的关系。
“在人类中，我们知道与年龄相关的听力损失估计会影响65岁以上的人群中的三分之一，” Kady M. Gjessing博士和Rahna M. Davidson博士Natasha Olby说。大学和该研究的对应作者。
“我们还知道，与年龄相关的听力损失的人的认知能力下降速度约为30-40％，而听力损失比其他因素（例如高血压或肥胖）更大。但是我们不明白狗是否相同。”
在研究中，Olby及其同事评估了39只高级或老年犬。对每只狗进行了听觉和认知测试，并要求他们的主人填写两份常用的问卷 - 一种侧重于认知能力，另一种是生活质量。在听力组之间比较了认知测试，问卷分数和年龄。
“平均”狗可以听到50分贝（DBS）的音调毫无困难。在研究队列中，其中有19只狗可以在50 dBs，12 dbs的12个狗听到，而在90 dBs的8个狗（大致相当于起飞时的喷气式飞机发出的噪音）。每组中的狗的平均年龄分别为12、13和14岁。
When the researchers compared the hearing results with owners’ quality of life questionnaire responses, they found that scores related to vitality and companionship declined significantly as hearing deteriorated.
同样，认知问卷的评分将90 dB组的所有八只狗排名为异常，而70 dB组中的12个中有9只狗，而在50 dB组中的八个中有八个。认知测试的结果相似：随着听力的下降，狗执行任务的能力也是如此。
“听力损失是最大的预测因子之一dementia in people,” Olby says. “Hearing loss also contributes to falls in elderly people, as sensory decline contributes to a loss in motor skills. So the connection between physical and neurological decline is clear for humans.
“这项研究表明，在衰老的狗中也有相同的联系。但是，由于我们可以潜在地治疗狗的听力损失，因此我们可以减轻其他一些问题。通过量化老年狗的神经和生理变化，我们不仅在提高宠物中识别和治疗这些问题的能力，而且还创建了一个模型，以提高人们对人类相同问题的理解。”
The study appears in the兽医杂志. Margaret Gruen, assistant professor of behavioral medicine at NC State, is co-senior author of the work.
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Note to editors:摘要接下来。
“听力，认知功能和老年同伴狗生活质量之间的关系”
作者：吉拉德·费弗（Gilad Fefer），迈克尔·Z. Khan（Michael Z. Khan），贝丝·凯斯（Beth Case），玛格丽特·E·格鲁恩（Margaret E.北卡罗来纳州立大学和加利福尼亚大学戴维斯的Wojciech K.
出版：2022年8月6日，在兽医杂志
抽象的：
背景 - 老年人患有痴呆和抑郁症的老年人比一般人群更高。没有关于狗中长老会后果的信息。
目标 - 评估老龄化狗的认知功能，生活质量和听力丧失之间的关系。
动物 - 39名高级或老年伴侣犬。
Methods – Prospective study. Auditory function was evaluated using Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) testing. Dogs were grouped by hearing ability. Owners completed the Canine Dementia Scale (CADES) and Canine Owner-Reported Quality of Life (CORQ) questionnaire. Cognitive testing was performed, and cognitive testing outcomes, CADES and CORQ scores, and age were compared between hearing groups.
结果– Nineteen dogs could hear at 50dB, 12 at 70dB and 8 at 90dB with mean ages (months) of 141 ± 14, 160 ± 16 and 172 ± 15 for each group respectively, P =.0002. CORQ scores of vitality and companionship were significantly lower as hearing deteriorated (6.6, 50 dB group to 5.4, 90 dB group, P =.029 and 6.9, 50 dB group to 6.2, 90 dB group P = .018 respectively). Cognitive classification by CADES was abnormal in all 90 dB group dogs, normal in 3/12, 70 dB group dogs and 11/19, 50dB group dogs (P =.0004). Performance on inhibitory control, detour and sustained gaze tasks decreased significantly in dogs with worse hearing (P =.0012, P =.0079, P =.002 respectively). In multivariate analysis, only higher CADES score was associated with worse hearing (P =.009).
Conclusions and clinical importance – Presbycusis negatively alters owner and pet interactions and is associated with poor executive function task performance and owner assessed dementia severity.
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