Neurological Studies: Can Dolphins Get Alzheimer's?

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Beached Dolphin

Photo: Aleksei Ivanov / PantherMedia / IMAGO

Dolphins keep stranding on the coasts of Great Britain.

Sometimes alone, sometimes in groups - sometimes they can be saved, sometimes not.

It is often unclear why the animals end up on the beaches.

Researchers have now examined the washed-up animals for pathologies in the brain, which are among the hallmarks of Alzheimer's.

The results could potentially confirm the theory that healthy animals end up in shallow waters because their strong social cohesion makes them follow a confused leader.

The study was published in the European Journal of Neuroscience.

The researchers examined five different types of toothed whales for the study: Risso's dolphins

pilot whales, white-beaked dolphins, harbor porpoises and bottlenose dolphins.

The result: Four animals from different dolphin species would show some brain changes that are linked to Alzheimer's disease in humans.

What cognitive deficits occur remains unclear

The brains of all aged animals studied would show amyloid-beta plaques, accumulation of phospho-tau, and a change in cell count in response to damage to the central nervous system, called gliosis.

Three animals were particularly badly affected.

They also had a number of other pathologies typical of dementia, according to a statement from the University of Glasgow.

This shows that some toothed whale species can develop a neuropathology similar to Alzheimer's.

However, the study cannot confirm whether any of the animals would have suffered from the same cognitive deficits associated with clinical Alzheimer's disease in humans.

"While it is tempting to speculate at this point, more research needs to be done to better understand what is happening to these animals," said Mark Dagleish of the University of Glasgow, who led the study, according to his university's statement.

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