Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrom

The impairments with CDS are more severe than those seen with normal aging processes or cognitive decline, despite some overlap of behavioral signs with the latter. CDS may lead to severe memory loss and learning difficulties, comparable to Alzheimer’s disease in humans. Although the onset of CDS is often insidious, it may appear sudden to owners and may change their relationship with their pet from ‘best friends’ to ‘caregiver and patient’. Owners may feel anxious and want to know that they are doing all they can to prevent or manage CDS. 

CDS affects an estimated 14% of dogs 8 years and older (with increasing prevalence with age), but is under-diagnosed by veterinarians.¹ Purina has developed a tool to help veterinarians diagnose CDS and monitor its progression in dogs. Purina’s research has shown that nutritional strategies can help slow progression of CDS in dogs by targeting risk factors of age-related neurodegeneration. 

Many of the behaviors seen with cognitive dysfunction overlap with those seen in cognitive decline. The DISHAA tool was developed to help veterinarians distinguish between the two. The tool is a questionnaire that can be completed by owners or by the veterinary staff in consultation with owners, which separates behaviors into categories: Disorientation; Social Interactions; Sleep/Wake Cycles; House soiling, Learning and Memory; Activity; and Anxiety.  The assessment can be used to support presumptive diagnosis of CDS and to monitor the dog over time. The number, frequency and severity of the signs observed, as well as the change over time, indicate the level of impairment and trajectory of decline. For a diagnosis of CDS, more than 1 cognitive domain must be affected. For example, CDS may be suspected in a dog that demonstrates impairment in the Interactions (I) and Anxiety (A) categories on the DISHAA questionnaire, but a dog impaired only in the Interactions (I) category would be considered to have cognitive impairment. For the second dog, the DISHAA assessment acts as a baseline for assessing progression toward CDS.