Press Releases

Nourishing New Pet Treat Significantly Improves Learning in Older Dogs

Scientific Evidence Demonstrates Benefits of Vigorate by JuvenonT
to Give Aging Pooches the Pep They Had as Pups

Incline Village, NV, July 19, 2007 - Juvenon™ recently launched an easy to consume dog treat, Vigorate. It contains the same key ingredients found in Juvenon, a dietary supplement for humans which combines a natural, energy-boosting component (acetyl-L-carnitine) with a powerful anti-oxidant (alpha lipoic acid) and is recognized among its customers for sustaining energy level and promoting cellular health.

According to a recent study from CanCog, a leading Canadian research institute, scientists found that aged dogs given a twice-daily supplement of alpha-lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine made fewer errors than dogs taking a placebo. The study suggests that age-associated cognitive decline can be decreased by long-term use of alpha lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine. The published study is in the recent edition of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal: Acetyl-L-Carnitine plus Alpha-Lipoic Acid Improves Learning.

Vigorate helps renew youthful energy in middle-aged and older dogs. Developed by a team of nationally renowned cellular scientists, Vigorate contains naturally occurring micronutrients that have been demonstrated to improve cells’ ability to recharge, and combines high-quality ingredients for a healthier life for pets.

Dr. Ben Treadwell, the online expert “Ask Ben” for Juvenon’s 24-hour consumer website and a former Harvard faculty professor and Massachusetts General researcher, feeds his dog Vigorate. “In both dogs and humans, cells have run down mitochondria that can be compared to a spent battery with low energy. It just makes sense to give older dogs Vigorate and people 30 and older Juvenon,” stated Treadwell.

Originally patented in the year 2000 and armed with numerous success stories of favorable effects Juvenon had on dogs, Nathan Hamilton, chairman and CEO of Juvenon, designed Vigorate to help dogs live healthier during their older years. With a major survey of pet owners stating overwhelmingly that dogs are an integral part of the family and that dogs make their personal lives better, Vigorate can help owners make their pets happier and healthier. The Vigorate formula was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,335,361. “We listened to what our customers and scientists had to say about the product then acted,” says Hamilton.

Vigorate is a small (5 gram) semi-moist, chicken-flavored treat shaped as a dog bone. Dogs get one treat for every 10 pounds of body weight, making it easy for pet owners to accurately control dosage.

Dr. Bruce Ames, a U.S. National Medal of Science award-winning researcher, and his team at University of California, Berkeley, discovered Juvenon. Dr. Ames’ initial work on the core technology began in the mid-1990s, when he came up with an idea to slow the cellular aging process.  Dr. Ames first experimented with a micronutrient called acetyl-L-carnitine– a naturally occurring biochemical that helped transport fatty acids into the cells and produce energy. In his experiments with acetyl-L-carnitine in older rats, within weeks they were reenergized and their biochemistry was running more smoothly. But acetyl-L-carnitine also increased the level of free radicals, so Ames added alpha lipoic acid, with astounding results.

Ames translated his research on acetyl-L-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid into a product for humans, Juvenon. In 1999, he and colleague Dr. Tony Hagen, now a professor at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, founded the company to sell the energy formula for humans.  The ingredients in Juvenon are based on natural substances humans normally manufacture at sufficient levels in youth but in lower quantities as they age. The patented composition of mitochondrial metabolites has been shown in laboratory experiments to support mitochondrial function as cells age by maintaining the membrane potential and enhancing anti-oxidative protection.

The compounds contained in the Vigorate dog treat, acetyl-L-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid, have been demonstrated to have positive effects in animal studies. The majority of these studies were with rodents.

“The recent study by CanCog has demonstrated an impressive effect of these compounds on the learning ability of aging dogs,” according to Treadwell.

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Contact: Tracy Owen Chapman
Weidinger Public Relations
775-588-2412
tracy@weidingerpr.com