Steven C Zicker’s research while affiliated with Hill's Pet Nutrition and other places

The invention provides compositions for preventing or treating kidney disease and improving kidney function comprising at least two ingredients selected from the group consisting of antioxidants and mitochondrial cofactors in amounts sufficient for preventing or treating kidney disease or for improving kidney function and methods for preventing and treating kidney disease or improving kidney function comprising administering such compositions to an animal susceptible to or suffering from kidney disease or impaired kidney function. In a preferred embodiment, the composition is admixed with one or more food ingredients to produce a food composition useful for preventing or treating kidney disease and improving kidney function, particularly in senior animals.

A method for influencing behavior in young, adult or aged pet animals which comprises systemically administering a behavior influencing quantity of an omega-3 fatty acid or mixture of omega-3 fatty acids.

A method for increasing the longevity of an old animal comprising administering to the animal a composition comprising one or more antioxidants in a total antioxidant amount sufficient to increase the longevity of the animal.

The invention encompasses compositions and methods for treating or preventing disorders in companion animals, wherein the compositions and methods include feeding the companion animal a composition including lipoic acid or a salt thereof.

The invention encompasses compositions for enhancing the ability of a companion animal to resist and/or overcome viral infections. The compositions of the invention include an amount of lipoic acid that is effective in enhancing the antiviral immunity of a companion animal.

A method for inhibiting a decline in learning and/or memory in an animal comprising maintaining the animal on an antioxidant-fortified diet for a period of at least about 3 years. The diet comprises at least one antioxidant in a total antioxidant amount effective to achieve such inhibition. Suitable antioxidants include vitamin E, vitamin C, α-lipoic acid and antioxidant-containing plant meals. The methods are particularly useful for young adult canines such as dogs.

Alpha-lipoic acid is well known as a cova-lently bound enzyme cofactor. In addition, lipoic acid has other cellular and molecular functions that have been explored in recent years, including its role as a powerful anti-oxidant. This study was designed to evaluate the safety of long-term oral exposure to DL-α-lipoic acid in dogs. Thirty healthy dogs (≥ 1 year; 15 male, 15 female) were enrolled in this randomized, placebo-controlled study for 12 months. The dogs were randomly assigned to one of fve treatment foods with varying target inclusion levels of lipoic acid (0, 150, 1500, 3000, and 4500 ppm). Daily food intake, weekly body weights, monthly physical examinations, and monthly hema-tology and serum biochemistry were monitored to ensure the safety of the treatments. Twenty-eight dogs completed the study. Food intake was highest for the food with the highest lipoic acid concentration. The average lipoic acid exposure for the different treatments groups were 0.31, 2.53, 26.3, 52.9, and 87.7 mg/kg body weight/ day. Body weights did not differ between the treatment groups over time. There were sta-tistically signifcant changes in certain blood parameters over time, but none of the trends were biologically signifcant, and the values stayed within or very close to the normal reference range. This study shows that long-term lipoic acid intake of up to 52.9 mg/kg body/day (3000 ppm diet) does not have any negative effects on the health of adult dogs.

To assess effects of foods fortified with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-rich fish oil on cognitive, memory, psychomotor, immunologic, and retinal function and other measures of development in healthy puppies. Evaluation study. 48 Beagle puppies. Puppies were assigned to 3 groups after weaning (n = 16/group) and received 1 of 3 foods (low-DHA, moderate-DHA, or high-DHA food) as their sole source of nutrition until 1 year of age. Visual discrimination learning and memory tasks, psychomotor performance tasks, and physiologic tests including blood and serum analysis, electroretinography, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry were performed at various time points. Anti-rabies virus antibody titers were evaluated 1, 2, 4, and 8 weeks after vaccination at 16 weeks of age. Foods had similar proximate analysis results but varied in concentration of DHA from fish oil; the high-DHA food also contained higher concentrations of vitamin E, taurine, choline, and l-carnitine than did other foods. The high-DHA group had significantly better results for reversal task learning, visual contrast discrimination, and early psychomotor performance in side-to-side navigation through an obstacle-containing maze than did the moderate-DHA and low-DHA groups. The high-DHA group had significantly higher anti-rabies antibody titers 1 and 2 weeks after vaccination than did other groups. Peak b-wave amplitudes during scotopic electroretinography were positively correlated with serum DHA concentrations at all evaluated time points. Dietary fortification with fish oils rich in DHA and possibly other nutrients implicated in neurocognitive development following weaning improved cognitive, memory, psychomotor, immunologic, and retinal functions in growing dogs.

Oxidative damage is a consistent feature of brain aging in all species studied. Decline in cognitive functions, which accompanies aging, may have a biological basis, and many of the disorders associated with aging may be preventable through dietary modifications that incorporate specific nutrient. Based on previous research and results of both laboratory and clinical studies in the canine model of human aging and disease, antioxidants may be one class of nutrient that may be beneficial. Brains of aged dogs accumulate oxidative damage to proteins and lipids, and mitochondrial dysfunction that may lead to impaired neuronal function. The production of free radicals and lack of increase in compensatory antioxidant enzymes may lead to increased damage to macromolecules within neurons. Reducing oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction through a diet rich in antioxidants and mitochondrial cofactors significantly improves, or slows the decline of, learning and memory in aged dogs. Furthermore, there are clear links between the reduction of brain oxidative damage and mitochondrial impairments and improved or maintained cognitive function. However, determining which compounds, which combinations and dosage range, when to initiate intervention, and long-term effects constitute critical gaps in knowledge. KeywordsCognitive dysfunction syndrome-Aging-Antioxidants-Carotenoids-Oxidative stress-Vitamins E and C

To determine the pharmacokinetics of DL-α-lipoic acid in dogs when administered at 3 dosages via 3 methods of delivery. 27 clinically normal Beagles. In a 3 × 3 factorial Latin square design, 3 dosages (2.5, 12.5, and 25 mg/kg) of DL-α-lipoic acid were administered orally in a capsule form and provided without a meal, in a capsule form and provided with a meal, and as an ingredient included in an extruded dog food. Food was withheld for 12 hours prior to DL-α-lipoic acid administration. Blood samples were collected before (0 minutes) and at 15, 30, 45, 60, and 120 minutes after administration. Plasma concentrations of DL-α-lipoic acid were determined via high-performance liquid chromatography. A generalized linear models procedure was used to evaluate the effects of method of delivery and dosage. Noncompartmental analysis was used to determine pharmacokinetic parameters of DL-α-lipoic acid. Nonparametric tests were used to detect significant differences between pharmacokinetic parameters among treatment groups. A significant effect of dosage was observed regardless of delivery method. Method of delivery also significantly affected plasma concentrations of DL-α-lipoic acid, with extruded foods resulting in lowest concentration for each dosage administered. Maximum plasma concentration was significantly affected by method of delivery at each dosage administered. Other significant changes in pharmacokinetic parameters were variable and dependent on dosage and method of delivery. Values for pharmacokinetic parameters of orally administered DL-α-lipoic acid may differ significantly when there are changes in dosage, method of administration, and fed status.