Scientists are seeking ways to prolong the lives of our canine friends as part of a huge new study.
Experts at the University of Washington have established the Dog Aging Project to see how they can ensure our beloved pooches live for two to four years longer.
The first of its three phases looked into the anti-rejection medicine rapamycin, and whether or not it could help in extending the lives of dogs.
The drug is already used in humans to aid their body in accepting kidney transplants, the Mirror reports.
As part of the initial trials, 24 golden retrievers, German shepherds and labradors tested the drug - and it was found to have improved their hearts.
Following this, the scientists tried the drug out on 50 dogs as part of phase two, while also looking at the effect rapamycin has on a dog's cognitive function and activity.
Dr Matt Kaeberlein said: "We find that 10 weeks of low-dose rapamycin treatment in middle-aged dogs is well-tolerated, with no overt side effects relative to placebo, and with improvements in left ventricular cardiac function that are comparable to what has been previously reported from a similar regimen in middle-aged mice."
However, despite rapamycin being shown to improve the lifespan of mice, it did not appear to have the same impact on dogs, prompting the scientists to expand their number of test subjects for phrase three.
"While there is evidence that rapamycin improves age-related deterioration of cardiac function in laboratory mice, no such effect has been demonstrated in dogs or other animals existing in a natural environment," added Dr Matt Kaeberlein.
"Our study provides the first evidence that rapamycin may partially reverse age-related heart dysfunction in dogs by improving measures of both diastolic and systolic functions.
"Although the effects reported here do not reach statistical significance for each measure, likely due to the relatively small sample size and high individual heterogeneity, all three of the outcomes showed trends toward improved function following rapamycin treatment, and two of them reached statistical significance. "
In their next study, the team is planning to run randomised clinical trials with a larger number of middle-aged dogs who will be studied for a longer period of time.
He concluded: "This will allow us to perform more powerful analyses of rapamycin’s effects on heart function and behaviour and help us determine whether there are differences in mortality, as well as the onset and prevalence of the various diseases that share aging as their common risk factor."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
