there is a silent threat that affects kitties – chronic kidney disease. It is a complex and irreversible ailment that typically manifests at around 10 years old in cats, affecting an astounding 1 in 3 felines. As cats age, they gradually lose their kidney function, which significantly compromises their quality of life.

Dr. Miyazaki’s breakthrough comes in the form of the “AIM” injection. It’s a medication that has demonstrated an astounding potential to help kitties suffering from chronic kidney disease. The scientist and his team pinpointed the root cause of this treacherous ailment, which paved the way for the development of the injection.

The “AIM” injection is currently in the clinical trial phase and is anticipated to be available by 2025.

  • 1bluepixel@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The news itself is great, but holy hell is this headline hyperbole. The medicine is a really great treatment and even preventive cure for kidney disease, which is a very common cause of death in old age for cats.

    No, this isn’t some miraculous treatment that will give all cats a longer lifespan. It’s a great cure to a very common cause of death in cats. Not sure where the 30 years figure comes from.

    • Nougat@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      More info: TikTok

      That highly respected journalistic source should give you all the confidence you need in the headline.

    • Salamendacious@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      You’re 100% right. It isn’t a great article but I couldn’t find a better one. I just thought people would be interested in reading it. Hopefully better information becomes public soon.

    • mephiska@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Maybe, I’ve got an older cat I adopted from a shelter, don’t know his exact age. But he’s in stage 3 of kidney failure and we’ve got him on the renal diet. I’m excited to read this news and really hope my boy can stay alive long enough to receive this treatment.

    • Shadow@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      This is 8 years old though, whereas the article is discussing clinical trials.

  • Wodge@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Not to brag or anything, but you see that ultra soft little bad ass of a cat here? He was named Gabriel, or Gaben for short, and he lived to the grand old age of 31. Proper excellent cat.

  • Chickenstalker@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The year is 40,000 A.D. Veteran cats deemed too irreplaceable to die will be entombed in a life support sarcophagus deep inside a huge mechanical body, so that even in death they can still serve the Emperor.

  • CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    While the “30 years” claim is bullshit, it’s great to see work done on this. The paper was released 7 years ago though! My cats are 13 years old and started showing kidney problems over a year ago, but it was caught early and with special diet their numbers are back to normal levels. Get your cats checked with bloodwork, it’s relatively cheap! The special diet not so much, it probably tripled my pet food costs, but mine are worth it and I’m sure I’ve extended their lifespan by years just by catching this early. I will ask my vet about this research on my next visit.

    • nicky7@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Mine is 19. Nearly lost him a few weeks ago to kidney disease. He’s on special diet now and doing better. I can’t help feeling like we would have caught it earlier with regular checkups. He’s old, deaf, and has an insatiable appetite, I just hope the quality of life he has in his final years are worth it to him.

    • medgremlin@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      I went looking for better information and I found the initial study published in Nature in 2016 and based on Japanese news sources it does look like the “vaccination” delivery is going into clinical trials soon. The study was quite interesting and the proposed mechanism of action makes sense and was tested both in vitro and in vivo. Here’s the link to the 2016 article. (It’s kind of dense on the renal physiology and immunology side of things, but the science is sound and potentially can be extended to treat humans with kidney disease in the future.)

      https://www.nature.com/articles/srep35251

  • Yokozuna@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    My first cat died from kidney failure. She was about 15 or 16 at the time so she wasnt exactly young. But it really affected me as a kid because I grew up with her. So glad this to read this.

  • garretble@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Sadly, my cat passed last year from kidney issues.

    But maybe this can be a thing for my next cat (whenever that is).

    • Salamendacious@lemmy.worldOP
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      1 year ago

      I have an 18yo with kidney issues. If this is accurate I’ll be talking to my vet soon. Well within the next couple years.