How has animal research advanced medicine in the past and is it necessary for the future? animalresearch medicine animalrights health animaltesting
1. Animal Research and Basic Biology4. Mandatory Animal Trials Misleading ResultsFurther Reading
Improved nutrition and hygiene have made infectious diseases much rarer. Yet, this alone does not explain how polio, diphtheria and rheumatic fever have become so uncommon or even eliminated, in some cases. The answer is animal research, which plays multiple roles. Rabbits, for instance, develop atherosclerosis, emphysema and the congenital spinal deformity called spina bifida. And dogs develop cancer, cataracts, diabetes, and coagulation disorders like hemophilia.
Again, every Nobel Prize in Medicine over the last 30 years has been based on science discovered using animal research. Less than one in five Nobel-winning contributions were made without animal experimentation. Animal research led to the identification of malaria as the cause of the “ague”; the treatment for vitamin deficiency diseases like rickets and beriberi; and a plethora of vaccines against deadly and previously untreatable conditions including the plague, cholera, typhoid, meningitis, and rabies – as well as more commonly used tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccines.
Over the last two decades, gene therapy has become a possibility due to animal trials. Currently, it is being tested over a multitude of genetic diseases such as muscular dystrophy and cystic fibrosis. Related StoriesThis is partly responsible for the >90% failure rate of drugs that show preclinical success, including in advanced animal experiments, when tested in humans. This has not been shown to be addressed by inserting human genes; using non-human primates , with their close genetic and physiologic similarity to humans; or standardizing laboratory protocols.
One scientist concludes, “The bottom line is that animal experiments, no matter the species used or the type of disease research undertaken, are highly unreliable—and they have too little predictive value to justify the resultant risks of harm for humans.” Using relevant models Toxicity tests in animals are exemplified by the LD50 , where the dose capable of killing half the animals is reached. Again, the IC50 , was formerly carried out in animals.
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