How canine companions could help treat Alzheimer's

Service dogs have been helping those with disabilities navigate the worldfor decades.

Now researchers are studying whether they should take on a new role helping seniors with Alzheimer's disease.

"They're unbelievable dogs," saidJudes Poirier, a McGillpsychology professor who is helping to conductthe study.

The study will give 21 couples, where one person is in the early stages of Alzheimer's, a servicedogfor the two-year study. They'll be able to keep the dog afterward.

The hypothesis is that the dogs will slow Alzheimer's progression, gainingoneto twoyears of independence for the patient.

The hope is that this treatment will be better than any drug on the market, saidPoirier.

"You have to take care of your dog. You have to walk around your neighbourhood. Soit's helping create more social opportunities," said Nicolas Dollion, a post-doctoral researcher at Universit de Montral.

The dogs used in the study are trained and bred by the Mira Foundation, a Quebec not-for-profit that trains service dogs for thevisually impaired and children with Autism.

The research is important because over the last decade there have been no breakthroughs in treating Alzheimer's with drugs.

Poirier calls the pharmaceutical progress of late, "pathetic."

However, researchers have found that exercise and social interactions can have an impact on the progression of Alzheimer's.

"The dog is all of that in one package," saidPoirier.

The service dogs also offer security to the elderly.

It's not uncommon for those with Alzheimer's to wander out of their homes in the middle of the night and that can be deadly, especially in the winter.

The dogs will bark if a person with Alzheimer's tries to leave the house, saidPoirier.

The study is looking for people with Alzheimer's who live with a partner to help care forthe dog, but also because spouses can benefit from canine companionship.

"Spouses often develop depression and we believe it's the excess of stress and anxiety that comes with the disease," saidPoirier.

Researchers hope the dogs could become a non-pharmaceutical treatment for Alzheimer's. A similartreatment is offered to children with Autism.So far fivepatients withAlzheimer's have been paired with the canine companions.

"Yourinteraction with the dog is always positive.You have this lovely relationship that you're building with them," saidDollion.