Observational analysis reveals neuropathology in octodon degus, suggesting its role as a model for Alzheimer’s insights.
The study of aging and age-related diseases has traditionally focused on short-lived laboratory species such as mice. The common degu (Octodon degus) is a long-lived rodent species native to Chile that naturally develops neuropathology and behavioral deficits characteristic of Alzheimer's disease together with other comorbidities associated with aging. These characteristics make the degu a useful model to gain insights into the interaction of aging and neurodegeneration.
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Hurley et al. (2025) studied this question.
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