LECTURE PRESENTATION Open Access

Pet therapy and geriatrics: a social-sanitary
connection
A Pugliese1*, L Famulari1, D Britti2

From de Senectute: Age and Health Forum
Catanzaro, Italy. 5-7 December 2009

Background
The Pet therapy has effective intervention strategies to
treat psycho-physics pathologies as well to improve life
quality. Animals represent ethereal molecules capable of
stimulating the release of neurotransmitters and various
endogenous peptides with several mechanisms of action,
mainly of emotional type, that promote an interconnec-
tion between affective and biological spheres, modifying
the neuro-endocrine axis, and determining, through the
biochemical-nervous pathways, the attainment of a state
of well-being: eucenestesis. The aim of Pet Therapy is to
ameliorate the state of well-being of some classes of
patients and, among those, elderly people that, by
means of contact with pets, experience a state of well-
being connected to:

• biological mechanisms: activation of specific neuro-
transmitters produce a rise in the level of endor-
phins, a decrease in the levels of adrenalin and
corticosteroids, and a decrease in the activity of cho-
linergic system;
• affective-emotional mechanisms (i.e. soul expres-
sions): in men and superior animals neurons that
fire both when the subject completes an action and
when observes others that do the same action (mir-
ror neurons) have been identified;
• physical mechanisms: responsible for the psycholo-
gical boundary establishment of one’s own identity,
one’s own self, and one’s own existence;
• psychological mechanisms: by means of pets, man
develops interpersonal relationships;
• associated mechanisms: single mechanisms interact
with each other in a synergistic way and, thanks to
factors that reduce the feelings of alienation and iso-
lation such as the communication with other people,

the recall of memories, the entertainment, and the
play, determine a cerebral stimulation.

The contact with pets is also effectual on behavioral
parameters reducing excitement, stimulating creativity,
curiosity, and observational ability; and on affectivity ame-
liorating depression and anxiety. Besides age-associated
pathologies (i.e. hypertension, diabetes, cardio- and
broncho-pathies), elderly people show discomforts (i.e.
retirement, and consequent loss of the social position,
mourning and/or stressful events, home change, hospitali-
zation in old’s people home, loss of social and emotional
entourage) that cause an increase of anxiety, depression,
and physiologic cognitive impairment.

Conclusions
The use of pets in geriatrics represents a proper true
drug both in the prevention and in the therapy of
pathological conditions that require long hospitalization
periods such as mental impairment due to old age and
Alzheimer’s.

Author details
1Pet Therapy Center, University of Messina, 98100, Italy. 2Department of
Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catanzaro “Magna Graecia”,
88100, Italy.

Published: 19 May 2010

References
1. Pugliese A: Pet Therapy Strategie d’intervento e linee guida. Armando

Editore 2005, .
2. Kongable LG, Buckwalter KC, Stolley JM: The effects of pet therapy on the

social behavior of institutionalized Alzheimer’s clients. Arch Psychiatr Nurs
1989, 3:191-198.

doi:10.1186/1471-2318-10-S1-L25
Cite this article as: Pugliese et al.: Pet therapy and geriatrics: a social-
sanitary connection. BMC Geriatrics 2010 10(Suppl 1):L25.

1Pet Therapy Center, University of Messina, 98100, Italy

Pugliese et al. BMC Geriatrics 2010, 10(Suppl 1):L25
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2318/10/S1/L25

© 2010 Pugliese et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2774672?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2774672?dopt=Abstract

	Background
	Conclusions
	Author details
	References