Abstract Details

Title Dog Ownership or Therapy to Potentially Ameliorate Burden of Neurological Disease

Topic General Neurology

Presentation(s) General Neurology Posters (7:00 AM-5:00 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 047

Objective Dog ownership decreases morbidity and mortality in those who have suffered a cardiac event and is potentially associated with increased physical activity that results from having a pet. It is hypothesized that the same correlation may occur with neurological disease. This review examines the effects that dogs have on symptom severity and disease markers associated with stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, epilepsy, and acute brain injury.

Background Dog owners that suffered from a heart attack recovered quicker than non-dog owners and patients were noted to have a reduction in blood pressure, heart rate, lipid, and glucose levels. Dogs may represent a potential non-pharmacological treatment option for neurological disease as the cardiovascular system is intimately related to the cerebrovascular system.

Design/Methods Articles were found on PubMed by searching for dog ownership/therapy, endurance activity, and neurological disease. The studies were evaluated for disease progression. Articles were excluded if they did not include dogs within the study, as they were the primary focus of this review.

Results Dog ownership and therapy is associated with improvement in psychological symptoms such as agitation, loneliness, and anxiety across many disease states. Stroke patients with dogs were found to have decreased mortality when compared to non-dog owners. Increased physical activity correlated with a reduction in deterioration of the brain in multiple sclerosis. Dogs were also shown to decrease disease progression in Parkinson’s, decrease seizures in epilepsy, and improve motor function in Huntington’s disease patients.

Conclusions Dog ownership and dog assisted therapy showed improvement in symptoms and outcomes across a variety of neurological conditions. Many of these chronic neurological conditions require numerous medications and dog therapy may represent a treatment option with no adverse effects or drug-drug interactions. This form of therapy may improve symptoms of neurological conditions, improve patient psychology, and enhance well-being.

Authors/Disclosures
Catherine Boldig, DO PRESENTER	Dr. Boldig has nothing to disclose.
Nitin Butala, MD, FAAN (Baptist Neurology)	Dr. Butala has nothing to disclose.

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