Biology subjects

Creevy, K. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Creevy, K. E..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Development and Validation of a Novel Instrument to Capture Companion Dog Mortality Data: The Dog Aging Project End of Life Survey

ObjectiveThe researchers and clinicians within the Dog Aging Project (DAP), a longitudinal cohort study of aging in companion dogs, created and validated a novel survey instrument titled the End of Life Survey (EOLS) to gather owner-reported mortality data about companion dogs. SampleBereaved dog owners who participated in the refinement, face validity assessment, or reliability assessment of the EOLS (n=42) and/or completed the entire survey between January 20 and March 24, 2021 (n=646). ProceduresThe EOLS was created and modified by veterinary health professionals and human gerontology experts using published literature, clinical veterinary experience, previously created DAP surveys, and feedback from a pilot study conducted with bereaved dog owners. The EOLS was subjected to qualitative validation methods and post-hoc free-text analysis to evaluate its ability to thoroughly capture scientifically relevant aspects of companion dogs death. ResultsThe EOLS was well-received with excellent face validity as assessed by dog owners and experts. The EOLS had fair to substantial reliability for the three validation themes: cause of death (kappa = 0.73; 95% CI [0.5-0.95]), perimortem quality of life (kappa = 0.49; 95% CI [0.26-0.73]), and reason for euthanasia (kappa = 0.3; 95% CI [0.08-0.52]) and had no need for any substantial content alterations based on free-text analysis. Clinical RelevanceThe EOLS has proven to be a well-accepted, comprehensive, and valid instrument for capturing owner-reported companion dog mortality data and has the potential to enhance veterinarians ability to care for the aging dog population by illuminating their understanding of companion dogs end-of-life experiences.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2022

Dog Size and Patterns of Disease History Across the Canine Age Spectrum: Results from the Dog Aging Project

Age in dogs is associated with the risk of many diseases, and canine size is a major factor in that risk. However, the size effect is not as simple as the age effect. While small size dogs tend to live longer, some diseases are more prevalent among small dogs. Utilizing owner-reported data on disease history from a substantial number of companion dogs, we investigate how body size, as measured by weight, associates with the prevalence of a reported condition and its pattern across age for various disease categories. We found significant positive associations between weight and prevalence of skin, bone/orthopedic, gastrointestinal, ear/nose/throat, cancer/tumor, brain/neurologic, endocrine, and infectious diseases. Similarly, weight was negatively associated with the prevalence of eye, cardiac, liver/pancreas, and respiratory disease categories. Kidney/urinary disease prevalence did not vary by weight. We also found that the association between age and disease prevalence varied by dog size for many conditions including eye, cardiac, orthopedic, ear/nose/throat, and cancer. Controlling for sex, purebred/mixed breed, and geographic region made little difference in all disease categories we studied. Our results align with the reduced lifespan in larger dogs for most of the disease categories but suggest potential avenues for further examination.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2021

Pharmacokinetics of long-term low-dose oral rapamycin in four healthy middle-aged companion dogs

ObjectiveTo determine the blood concentration and pharmacokinetic parameters of rapamycin in companion dogs following long-term, low-dose oral administration of rapamycin. AnimalsFour healthy, middle-aged, medium-to-large breed privately owned dogs participated. ProceduresAll dogs had been receiving oral rapamycin at a dose of 0.025 mg/kg on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings for at least one month. An initial blood sample was collected prior to morning rapamycin administration, and samples were collected at 1, 2, 6, and 24 hours after rapamycin was given. Blood samples were transferred to blood spot collection cards, air-dried and stored at -80{degrees}C. Rapamycin concentrations were determined via HPLC/MS. All blood collections occurred on Wednesdays, so that the previous dose of rapamycin had taken place 48 hours prior to blood collection. ResultsFor all dogs, rapamycin Tmax was 2 hours. Median Cmax was 1.47 ng/ml (0.912 - 2.13), and the median AUC0-last was 15.7 ng*hr/mL (1.30 - 36.3). Due to sample size and timing, the only estimates related to elimination rate reported are for mean residence time with a median of 4.70 hrs (0.90 - 7.30). Conclusions and Clinical RelevanceA 0.025 mg/kg oral dose of rapamycin, administered three times a week, resulted in concentrations of rapamycin in the blood capable of being measured in ng/ml.

pharmacology and toxicology↗