Introduction

During aging, it is reported that dogs suffer a decrease in the thickness of the interthalamic adhesion.

Objectives

The aim of this study was to identify whether the thickness of the interthalamic adhesion of healthy domestic cats reduces with increasing age.

Methods

Twelve adult (1–6 years), eleven mature (7–11 years) and ten geriatric (12 years of age or older) non-brachycephalic cats were submitted to brain MRI studies. Thickness of the interthalamic adhesion was measured on transverse T1- and T2-weighted sequences and an average value was obtained. Mean values of the thickness of the interthalamic adhesion of each group were compared by ANOVA test followed by Bonferroni multiple comparison test (p<0.05).

Results

The thickness of the interthalamic adhesion was significantly lower in geriatric cats in relation to the adults, corroborating the results found in dogs. The thickness was 0.28 mm lower in the mature cats than the adults and 0.32 mm lower in the geriatric animals in relation to the mature cats. Considering the value calculated for adults as basis, the thickness of the interthalamic adhesion reduced 5.81% between mature and adults and 6.43% between geriatric and mature groups, which imply in a decrease of 12.24% between geriatric and adult cats.

Conclusions

The results of this study demonstrate that the thickness of the interthalamic adhesion tends to decrease in domestic cats with age.