動物保健｜寵物老了，需要什麼？──照顧年邁寵物的秘訣 Ensuring a better life for our longer-lived pets

貓狗常被視為重要的伴侶，在繁榮的國家中亦享有較高的生活水平，這意味著這些寵物陪伴我們的時間比過去更長。

「在過去幾年中，寵物的壽命顯著的增加了，這是一個巨大的變化。」百靈佳殷格翰的寵物治療和寵物疫苗部門主管Erich Schött說道。舉例來說，家貓現在的壽命已經是野貓的兩倍長。

這個趨勢也意味著寵物照顧的工作不再僅限提供營養和預防保健，這些因素促成了寵物們的長壽，現在，我們需要提供老年貓狗所需的照顧和疾病管理。

百靈佳殷格翰致力於支持獸醫師在預防、診斷和治療疾病的工作

針對不同年齡階段的照顧

當人們決定收養寵物時，可能沒有意識到寵物的需求將隨著年齡增長而改變。由於壽命延長，寵物可能面臨與人類相似的年齡相關疾病，像是心臟病、腎臟病、肝臟病、糖尿病、高血壓、關節炎和癌症等。

許多疾病是可治療的，並適用與人類相同的原則──疾病越早被診斷並接受治療，前景就越好。以糖尿病為例，在健康飲食和正確的藥物幫助下，血糖水平的正常化，與疾病相關的症狀也會改善，寵物的生活品質將顯著提高。

獸醫在高齡寵物的健康中扮演著關鍵的角色，且不單是在問題出現時，獸醫的工作是在問題發生前讓寵物主人意識到潛在的健康問題，提供教育和建議。百靈佳殷格翰與獸醫密切合作，並在疾病預防、診斷和治療上給予支持。

適當的治療可以顯著改善高齡寵物的健康狀況，並提升其主人的幸福感，正如Schött先生所見證的那般，他說：「我們的貓已經12歲了，且患有慢性腎衰竭，我們非常擔心她的健康，但是透過適當的治療方案，她恢復了以往的活力，她甚至又開始成功地捕捉到老鼠了！」

人類與動物間的心臟疾病和其治療有雷同之處，了解更多。

「我們用創新的方法改變了許多寵物和人們的生活，現在我們期待繼續在這條道路上獲取更大的成就。」－Erich Schött，百靈佳殷格翰的寵物治療和寵物疫苗部門主管（Head of Pet Therapeutics and Pet Vaccines）。

2020年，百靈佳殷格翰收購了一家具開拓性的公司：Global Stem Cell Technology，現被稱為Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Medicine Belgium。該單位致力於間質幹細胞治療的研究，這些療法具有對抗各種炎症和自體免疫性疾病（如骨科問題）的潛力。百靈佳殷格翰的其他團隊也在探索將幹細胞治療的應用擴展到其他疾病領域中。

去年，百靈佳殷格翰與生物製藥公司CarthroniX展開了研究合作，共同開發能夠對抗犬隻癌症的新型小分子。

百靈佳殷格翰還與其他生物製藥公司合作，共同研究單株抗體治療領域。例如位於波士頓的Invetx，即是一間在寵物保健領域上基於單株抗體治療的先驅。單株抗體治療是一種標靶性免疫治療，模仿細胞的自然防禦機制，已被用於多種人類的疾病治療上，單株抗體科學也在寵物保健護理上具有相當大的潛力。

「我們用創新的方法改變了許多寵物和人們的生活。」Schött先生表示：「我們希望繼續為飼主們帶來更多與心愛動物共度的高品質時光。」

ANIMAL HEALTH

Ensuring a better life for our longer-lived pets

A long walk, a special treat or a good cuddle session — loving care is important for pets, especially as they grow older. Boehringer Ingelheim supports people in ensuring their pets’ health, with a broad portfolio of medicines and forward-looking research.

Cats and dogs are often considered important companions and, so, enjoy a correspondingly high standard of living — in prosperous countries, at least. That means these pets are with us longer than they used to be.

“There has been a huge increase in the life expectancy of pets in the past few years,” explains Erich Schött, Head of Pet Therapeutics and Pet Vaccines at Boehringer Ingelheim. House cats, for example, are now living twice as long as their feral cousins.

The trend, of course, means that caring for pets now goes beyond providing the nutrition and preventive healthcare that are responsible for that longevity. It means offering the care and disease management that elderly cats and dogs are likely to require.

Boehringer Ingelheim supports veterinarians in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Age-specific care

What people may not realize when they decide to take in a pet is that the animal’s needs change with age. With a longer life expectancy, pets can experience similar age-related ailments that humans do — including heart, kidney and liver disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis and cancer.

Many of these diseases are treatable, and the same principle applies as for humans — the earlier the diagnosis occurs and treatment begins, the better the outlook. Take diabetes as an example: With the help of a healthy diet and the right medication, blood sugar levels normalize, the symptoms associated with the disease improve, and the pet’s quality of life increases significantly.

Veterinarians, of course, play a key role in the health of aging pets — and not just when problems arise. It’s the veterinarian’s job to make pet owners aware of potential health concerns in advance, to educate them and to advise them. Boehringer Ingelheim works closely with veterinarians in the areas of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

The right treatment can significantly improve the wellbeing of aged pets — and thus that of their owners, as Mr. Schött can attest. “Our cat is 12 years old and has chronic kidney failure,” Mr. Schött said. “We were very worried about her. But with the right therapeutic measures, she turned back into her old self. She’s even successfully hunting mice again!”

Heart disease and its treatment can be similar in both humans and animals. Learn More.

“We have already used innovative solutions and approaches to change the lives of many pets and people for the better. Now, we are looking forward to continuing that path and achieving much more.”

Erich Schött,

Head of Pet Therapeutics and Pet Vaccines at Boehringer Ingelheim

In 2020, Boehringer Ingelheim acquired a trailblazing company: Global Stem Cell Technology, now known as Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Medicine Belgium. The unit is researching therapies based on mesenchymal stem cells, which have the potential to fight a variety of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as orthopedic problems. Other teams at Boehringer Ingelheim are exploring the potential to expand the use of stem cell treatments to other areas of disease.

Last year, Boehringer Ingelheim began a research collaboration with the biopharmaceutical company CarthroniX to work on new small molecules that might combat cancer in dogs.

Boehringer Ingelheim also collaborates with several other biopharmaceutical companies in the area of monoclonal therapeutic antibodies. Invetx, for example, is a Boston-based pioneer in therapies based on monoclonal antibodies for pet health. Monoclonal antibody therapies are a type of targeted immune treatment that mimics cells’ natural defenses. Already used to treat many different diseases in humans, monoclonal antibody science holds great potential for pet health care as well.

“We have already used innovative solutions and approaches to change the lives of many pets and people for the better,” Mr. Schött says, “and we want to continue to give pet owners even more years of quality time with their beloved animals.”