THERAPEUTIC EFFECTS OF CANNABIDIOL IN DOGS WITH COGNITIVE DYSFUNCTION SYNDROME

• Grant number: 24/01423-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Rogério Martins Amorim
• Grantee: Klysse Assumpção Barbosa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) is a neurodegenerative disorder, analogous to Alzheimer's disease (AD) that occurs in humans, which causes behavioral and cognitive changes in dogs, such as disorientation, changes in interaction with people and other animals, sleep-wake changes, changes in learned behaviors and anxiety, causing a decrease in the dog's quality of life and, consequently, that of its owners. Its diagnosis is made through a combination of neurological examination, advanced imaging tests, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis and application of the Canine Dementia Scale (CADES) to the owners. As it is a condition that still has no cure, just like AD, the treatment of DDS is based on multi-therapies aimed at minimizing the deleterious effects of the disease, such as the use of antioxidants, mitochondrial enzymatic factors combined with cognitive and sensory stimuli for the dog through walks and games and therapies that are still being studied, such as the use of cell therapy and phytocannabinoids.