Elderly dogs to get the run around!

Elderly dogs are getting the treatment. Could it be humans in years to come?

An American professor is in the final stages of preparing a canine gene therapy which is designed to turn off the genes that inhibit muscle growth. Imagine your frail old dog suddenly running around like a puppy again. That could be the result!

The University of Pennsylvania’s Professor Lee Sweeney has led the research into gene transfer technology, which enables genes which function poorly or are abnormal to be replaced or switched off.

His research created “mighty mice” in the lab ten years ago; they had enormous muscles and strength despite their old age. Professor Sweeney’s experiments on dogs have been very successful, leading to the next step of preparing to market the treatments to dog owners in the United States.

He said that the final approvals were being sought and the treatment should be available via veterinary hospitals soon, as a treatment to try and improve strength in pet dogs.

Eventually scientists hope to be able to use similar treatments on humans, for example, to treat diseases like muscular dystrophy.

However, there is a fear that such a drug could be used to improve sports performance, and injection of genes into muscle would be virtually impossible to detect.

  What's this?