How chronic inflammation shapes aging and oral disease in dogs

Dogs are now recognized as an excellent model for aging studies and therapies. Projects such as the Dog Aging Project, with researchers at institutions including Texas A&M University, have collected huge amounts of data. One initiative, TRIAD, is looking at rapamycin and its impact on aging and inflammation. Companies are also developing drugs that could affect aging. Visceral adipose tissue, the fat around the gut, is a major driver of inflammaging. That is why many people, myself included, use GLP drugs—they can reduce visceral fat and may lower chronic inflammation. We may see options for veterinarians and dogs become available even before similar therapies are common in humans.