INTRODUCTION The elderly represent the fastest growing population group in France. The care management of people suffering from dementia has become an important problem. Demented patients manifest behavioral problems, depression, apathy, impairment in social activities and language skill disorders. The literature contains few studies investigating animal-assisted therapy for demented patients. ...

[Purpose] Previous studies have indicated that animal-assisted therapy can promote recovery of psychological, social, and physiological function in mental disorders. This study was designed as a pilot evaluation of the use of near-infrared spectroscopy to objectively identify changes in brain activity that could mediate the effect of animal-assisted therapy. [Subjects and Methods] The participa...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To identify to what extent an animal-assisted activity (i.e., visits with a dog) affects the mood, self-perceived health, and sense of coherence among patients undergoing radiation therapy. DESIGN Pretest/post-test between and within groups. SETTING Radiation oncology units of two hospitals in a mid-sized, midwestern city. SAMPLE 30 adult patients undergoing nonpalliati...

Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) or Pet Therapy is a supportive goal-oriented intervention which is mainly result from human and animal interaction. [1][6] In this treatment process, a health professional/patients’ doctor have to determine which animal model should be accompanied with a specific clinical goal. This interventions can be followed by physical therapists, neurol‐ ogist, psychiatrist, ...

Confinement in metabolism pens may provoke a stress response in alpacas that will reduce the welfare of the animal and jeopardize the validity of scientific results obtained in such pens. In this study, we tested a protocol designed to successfully train alpacas to be held in a specially designed metabolism pen so that the animals' confinement would not jeopardize their welfare. We hypothesized...

In recent decades, the inclusion of animals in an educational context has increased popularity. The purpose this convergent mixed-methods study was to explore attitudes and perceptions school staff faculty regarding Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) academic setting along with opportunities challenges implementing AAT program. Results reported that believe a therapy animal could be effective helpin...

The consistency approach for release testing of established vaccines promotes the use of in vitro, analytical, non-animal based systems allowing the monitoring of quality parameters during the whole production process. By using highly sensitive non-animal methods, the consistency approach has the potential to improve the quality of testing and to foster the 3Rs (replacement, refinement and redu...