My pharmacology professor, Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul Kaya, often says, “Science is hidden in nature.” Nature’s two main components are plants and animals. We know that plant-based treatment, known as phytotherapy, has been used since the very beginning of medicine. In today’s video, however, we will discuss the lesser-known aspects of treatment using animals, backed by scientific evidence.
Welcome! I’m Yaşar, a 5th-year medical student at Düzce University. In this video, we will get to know 15 animals used for therapeutic purposes around the world. Let’s begin.
1. Pet Therapy
In pet therapy, people typically prefer cats, dogs, and birds. We can say that keeping a pet lowers blood pressure and can help prevent heart attacks. Scientific research has provided evidence for this. For instance, many studies comparing the health of pet owners and non-owners have shown that pet owners are less likely to experience depression. This is probably because interacting with pets increases serotonin, the happiness hormone.
Furthermore, it has been shown that pet owners live longer and happier lives. Beyond these benefits, if you have a dog, you need to take it for walks regularly. These walks also count as treatment for you! Walking is one of the best therapies. However, maintaining balance is crucial. In developed countries, and also in our country, I believe it’s a pathological situation when people distance themselves from other humans and get closer only to animals. Humans need a social environment; they need a few close, intimate friends. Having pets alongside these relationships is not a problem. But I often see people around me who form no social relationships, join no activities, make no friends, and only have pets. This, alone, won’t be very therapeutic. Make friends, be in social environments, and also have a pet—that’s what has these therapeutic effects.
2. Leech Therapy (Hirudotherapy)
You’ve probably heard of treatment with leeches. In medical terminology, we call this hirudotherapy. The word originates from “hirudin,” an anticoagulant substance found in leech saliva. In Turkey, it is recognized within traditional and complementary medicine methods. Leech therapy is a method approved by the Ministry of Health and is performed by trained doctors in hospitals and traditional medicine centers. It has many indications and is used in the treatment of various diseases. Please, do not get such treatments, especially leech therapy which is very common in Turkey, in unlicensed places. Always try to get treatment from doctors in sterile hospital environments.
As you know, leeches have this enzyme, the hirudin enzyme. Because of its blood-thinning properties, it has been isolated from leeches in the USA, developed into a separate drug, and released onto the market. Research continues on other leech enzymes. Leech therapy is a very comprehensive topic; we will discuss the details and evidence of hirudotherapy in a separate video.
3. Mice and Rabbits
I believe the purpose of using mice and rabbits in medicine is their service to science. As you know, the biological systems and body functions of mice and rabbits are very similar to humans. Therefore, they are widely used in scientific research. At Düzce University’s Experimental Animals Center, we also have many different types of mice and rabbits. In my opinion, this is one of the greatest services these animals provide to science.
4. Maggot Therapy (Larval Therapy)
We call this larva or maggot therapy in medicine. Yes, even flies are among the animals used in treatment. We use the young larvae of the Lucilia sericata fly. This treatment is generally used for diabetic foot infections, pressure ulcers, necrotic wounds—essentially, if there is a wound anywhere, we place the larvae inside. After leaving them for a certain period depending on the wound’s condition, these little larvae, because they feed on the dead tissue, clean and debride that area. We use these fly larvae to clean such wounds.
Larval therapy is also a treatment method approved by the WHO and the Turkish Ministry of Health. It is a treatment with very high scientific evidence and is applied in traditional medicine centers and hospitals, particularly in orthopedics departments. In fact, a scientific study a friend and I conducted on maggot therapy was recently published in an international journal; I’ll add it on the screen so you can see it.
5. Fish Therapy
While researching treatment with fish, I came across so many details and content that I think I’ll cover it in a separate video. But I want to share a few interesting points that caught my attention. While speaking with a friend studying at a medical school in Iran, they told me about a treatment for some liver diseases where small live fish are swallowed. I was very surprised by this—how could swallowing a live fish affect liver diseases?
Apart from that, you might have heard in Turkey about using live trout, wrapped around the waist, for hernia treatment. I don’t know how much scientific evidence these have; I will research them in detail and share with you. Furthermore, I came across treatments at the “Balıklı Kaplıca” (Fish Spa) in Sivas, where people with skin diseases like psoriasis and eczema go, and the fish in that lake are said to treat the wounds by eating the affected skin. This also surprised me a lot. Additionally, I saw some information about using shark cartilage in cancer treatment.
6. Dolphin Therapy
Our sixth animal used in treatment is the dolphin. As you know, dolphins are one of the sweetest and most harmless animals in the world. Dolphin therapy has become a very popular treatment method worldwide in recent years. It is generally used for children with mental disabilities, neurological disorders, muscular diseases, developmental disorders, especially those with Down syndrome and autistic children. Dolphin therapy benefits their muscle development.
While researching this topic, I came across very heartwarming video content. I read in some publications that there isn’t solid scientific evidence for dolphin therapy—there aren’t enough studies on it. However, some research has shown that dolphin therapy increases learning speed. Due to copyright, I can’t show those videos here, but you can search for them on YouTube. There are dolphin therapy centers in Turkey. As I said, this isn’t a standalone treatment but a method that, when used with other therapies, supports rehabilitation and accelerates learning.
So, how are dolphins effective? During dolphin therapy, children with developmental disorders play with them in the water, which aids their muscle development. Dolphins also enhance children’s social communication skills. Furthermore, dolphins have a sonar ability. This is the ability that allows them to mimic movements, like you see on TV. It is claimed that this sonar ability affects brain waves, strengthening motor learning and communication skills. As I said, this isn’t fully proven yet, but dolphin therapy has been shown to have many positive effects on children’s development, motor skills, and social abilities.
7. Frog Therapy
Yes, you heard right. Even frogs are one of the animals with therapeutic properties. Frog therapy is intensively practiced in China. As you know, I am Azerbaijani, and in many hospitals in Azerbaijan, especially private ones, frog therapy is applied. How is it done? Not all frogs, of course, but specific types are used, just like with leeches.
It is particularly used in the treatment of goiter, a disease characterized by the enlargement of the thyroid gland. The method involves placing and wrapping these frogs directly onto the enlarged thyroid gland and leaving them for a certain time. It is claimed that the frogs reduce the size of the enlarged thyroid. I didn’t find enough scientific evidence on this topic either. Since these therapies are still developing, they lack sufficient evidence, but there were many experiential accounts.
At first, I didn’t find this very convincing. A few months ago, I asked a professor doctor from the USA—a doctor who worked in the US for many years—about this in an online conference. I asked him, “They use frog therapy for some diseases; how logical and evidence-based is this?” He replied, “During my years working in the USA, we applied frog therapy in the hospital for cases of breast cancer in women.” This truly surprised me. He said they would place the frog on the breast, over the mass area, leave it, and after taking the frog away, they observed a difference in the size of the mass before and after, noting that it had shrunk.
There is a theory about this. As you all know, frogs, unlike other animals, have three respiratory systems: they breathe through their digestive system, respiratory system, and their skin. Therefore, their skin also has absorptive and diffusive properties. It is hypothesized that, thanks to this absorptive quality, they might be able to shrink the size of such tumors or enlarged thyroid glands.
