Some of the oldest-living dogs on Earth are helping scientists uncover new clues about how to stay healthy and resilient in old age.
Researchers at the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation’s Center for Exceptional Longevity Studies, based at Purdue University’s Research Park in Indiana, have found that keeping the body’s natural hormone system functioning—especially the system that controls testosterone—may help fight frailty later in life.
Their findings were published in Scientific Reports.
Frailty is a major concern for older people because it increases vulnerability to falls, hospitalizations, and shorter life expectancy.
Most research has focused on preventing frailty from developing in the first place, but this new study looked at what helps some individuals remain resilient once frailty sets in.
The researchers discovered that the body’s hormone regulation system—known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis—plays a key role in how the body copes with the effects of aging.
“Our work provides the first description of how the integrity of the HPG axis influences the risk of death associated with late-life frailty,” said Dr. David J. Waters, Director of the Murphy Foundation’s Center for Exceptional Longevity Studies.
“We found that male dogs with shorter exposure to testicular hormones had a much higher mortality risk once frailty appeared, while those with longer gonad function seemed protected from its harmful effects.”
This discovery suggests that maintaining hormonal balance throughout life could help buffer the body against the damage of aging.
Dr. Markus Schafer, co-author of the study and a sociology professor at Baylor University, explained that the research uses a “life course approach,” showing how early-life hormonal factors might influence resilience in old age.
He said the study expands the scientific discussion about how gonadal hormones—like testosterone—affect not just the development of frailty, but also how the body responds to it.
The research draws on an extraordinary group of dogs studied through the Exceptional Aging in Rottweilers Study, led by Waters and his team. These dogs live 30% longer than the breed average—equivalent to a human reaching 100 years old.
By collecting detailed lifetime medical histories from owners and veterinarians, the researchers are using these exceptional dogs to explore what allows some animals (and potentially people) to age so successfully.
In the new study, the team created a frailty score for elderly male dogs with different lifetime levels of gonadal hormone exposure and tracked them from that point until death. The results showed a clear connection: dogs that retained testicular function longer were far more resistant to the life-shortening effects of frailty.
Waters believes these insights could one day help people as well as pets. “Dogs have long helped us make discoveries about hormones—from the development of insulin to cancer treatments,” he said. “Now, they’re teaching us about healthy aging.”
The work also builds on the team’s earlier studies, which linked ovarian function to longevity and examined how early hormonal changes relate to injury risk. Waters hopes that understanding how hormones influence frailty resilience could eventually lead to new strategies to extend healthy lifespan.
“These exceptional dogs are showing us that the key to aging well might lie within our own biology,” said Waters. “They’ve been our companions for centuries—and now, they’re helping us unlock the secrets of long, healthy living.”
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Source: KSR.
