Introduction to the use of animals in medical research.
The use of animals in medical research has been the subject of significant public debate and concern. Some argue that animal experiments are essential to medical progress, while others believe that this practice is unethical and does not produce results that can be reliably translated to people. A growing range of modern techniques can replace the use of animals and provide results that are more relevant to human patients. These include the use of human cells and tissues, and computer-based methods.
Our work aimed to explore the societal benefits of accelerating the replacement of animals with these new research methods. We found that this approach would benefit animal welfare, public health and the economy. We also found that the British public is generally in favor of efforts to replace animals, and that focusing on this area would help to support the British Government’s policy and economic goals. We suggest that the British Government could greatly expedite the replacement of animal experiments by appointing a new minister to take responsibility for this transition[1].
National Academy of Sciences (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Use of Animals in Research. Science, Medicine, and Animals. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1991. SCIENCE, MEDICINE, AND ANIMALS. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223354/[2].
Animals have been used repeatedly throughout the history of biomedical research. Early Greek physician-scientists, such as Aristotle, (384 – 322 BC) and Erasistratus, (304 – 258 BC), performed experiments on living animals. Likewise, Galen (129 – 199 / 217 AD), a Greek physician who practiced in Rome and was a giant in the history of medicine, conducted animal experiments to advance the understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar), an Arab physician in twelfth century Moorish Spain, introduced animal testing as an experimental method for testing surgical procedures before applying them to human patients.
How animals help in developing new drugs.
Animal systems can provide important insights into how a disease works within the body, one of the first steps in the drug discovery and development process. Animals help us advance scientific understanding of our biology, contribute to the development of new medicines and therapies, and protect the safety of people and the environment.
Studies on animals were essential for the development of most medicines. Two examples are penicillin, whose discovery made the development of antibiotics possible, and insulin. Only when its role in regulating blood sugar levels was understood was it possible to treat diabetes.
Pioneering treatments are being developed with the help of dogs, such as immunotherapy and bacteria injections to fight cancer. Researchers have injected tumors in dogs with a bacteria that grows and kills cancer cells. The tumors were effectively reduced or eliminated altogether. One human patient has received this bacterium, and researchers hope to continue research with dogs before widespread human trials.
The is significant progress because the bacteria target cancer cells only, however for the injections to be effective researchers need to harness the bacteria to target metastases, as they often prove more fatal than the original tumor. Immunotherapy is another developing technique to cure cancer.
With one in eight Rottweilers affected by cancer, The Rottweiler Health Foundation is a major supporter of canine cancer research, and immunotherapy is one that has proved successful. Osteosarcoma, bone cancer, is the most common type that affects dogs, and immunotherapy has been used to save many dog’s lives, and in turn, has been modified to successfully treat cancer in humans.
Osteosarcoma is another form of cancer that is remarkably similar in humans, specifically children, so testing cures with dogs is progress towards curing the thousands of dogs and children affected. As our research into canine cancer improves so does our developments to fight cancer in humans- man and man’s best friend are a united front in the fight against cancer.
Examples of life-saving medicines that were developed with the help of animals.
The same methods that have been developed to prevent and treat diseases in humans have improved the lives of countless animals.20, 21 Vaccines, antibiotics, anesthetics, surgical procedures, and other approaches developed in animals for human use are now commonly employed throughout veterinary medicine. Pets, livestock, and animals in zoos live longer, more comfortable, and healthier lives as a result of animal research.
Methods to combat infectious diseases have not been the only dividends of animal research. Surgical procedures, pain relievers, psychoactive drugs, medications for blood pressure, insulin, pacemakers, nutrition supplements, organ transplants, treatments for shock trauma and blood diseases—all have been developed and tested in animals before being used in humans. 14 In fact, according to the American Medical Association, “Virtually every advance in medical science in the 20th century, from antibiotics and vaccines to antidepressant drugs and organ transplants, has been achieved either directly or indirectly through the use of animals in laboratory experiments.”.
Many major medical breakthroughs have been made due to animal experiments. For example, in the 1920s, a surgeon discovered he could relieve the symptoms of diabetes in dogs by injecting them with insulin. Before that, people with diabetes got very sick and did not live for long, but now with the help of insulin, diabetics are able to control the level of sugar in their blood and live normal lives.
Animals have been used to develop vaccines to prevent diseases that previously killed billions of people, including polio and meningitis. Animal experiments also allowed us to develop crucial medical practices we now take for granted, like anesthetics to put people to sleep during surgery, cancer treatments, and antibiotics. While a person born 100 years ago would be expected to live for 30 years, people born these days live around 70 years. Discoveries resulting from animal experiments have a lot to do with that increase in lifespan.
The importance of ethical considerations in animal research.
Other research ethics considerations include having a clear rationale and reasoning for the use of animals in a research project. Researchers must have reasonable expectation of generating useful data from the proposed experiment. Moreover, the research study should be designed in such a way that it should involve the lowest possible sample size of experimental animals while producing statistically significant results [8].
Tulane requires that research animals be treated in an ethically responsible way and with compassion and dignity. The university respects and accepts the moral and ethical implications of using animals in research, and it is committed to being compliant with all government regulations pertaining to animal research.
It adheres to the tenets of W.M.S. Russell and R.L. Burch* that call for the refinement of experimental methods, the reduction of pain and distress experienced by test subjects, the minimization of the number of animals used in research where consistent with sound experimental design, and the replacement of animals with non-animal experimental methods wherever feasible.
The case for ethical animal research, then, does not need as much building as it might at first appear. None of the major philosophical arguments for animal welfare exclude the possibility of ethical animal research. The harm that is done to animals in well-regulated research environments serves a higher moral purpose: the reduction of death and suffering by disease and other disorders.
Of course, this is only true if pain, suffering and distress, are minimised – as they are through animal welfare regulations in the UK and EU for example. These regulations also require the application of the principles of the 3Rs – but it is quite obvious, all other things being equal, that the use of a mouse in an investigation into cancer development, for example, will create less suffering than using a person for the same purposes.
Alternatives to animal testing.
Progress is being made in reducing the number of animals used in testing. Testing involves the use of animals, primarily rats and mice, to assess the safety or effectiveness of consumer products such as drugs, chemicals, and cosmetics. Many researchers are now searching for ways to further reduce the use of animals in testing, and these efforts could reduce the need for animals in research as well.
New experimental procedures can sometimes reduce the numbers of animals used, particularly in the testing of new compounds for toxicity. For instance, new chemical compounds are now routinely screened in cell cultures, and if they are found to be toxic they are not given to animals. But cell cultures cannot replace animals. If a compound proves innocuous in a cell culture, it must still be tested in an animal to gauge its effects in a complex organism. Similarly, computer models and other nonanimal alternatives can at most supplement, rather than replace, animal experimentation.
Studies published in prestigious medical journals have shown time and again that animal testing is bad science and wastes lives—both animal and human—and precious resources by trying to infect animals with diseases that they would never normally contract. Fortunately, a wealth of cutting-edge non-animal research methodologies promises a brighter future for both animal and human health. The following are common statements supporting animal experimentation followed by the arguments against them.
Conclusion and future direction of animal research in medicine.
The development of drugs and medical technologies that help to reduce suffering among humans and animals depends on the carefully regulated use of animals for research. In the 21st century scientists are continuing to work on treatments for cancer, stroke, heart disease, HIV, malaria, tuberculosis, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and very many more diseases that cause suffering and death. Genetically modified mice play a crucial role in future medical progress as understanding of how genes are involved in illness is constantly increasing.
National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1988.
National Research Council (US) and Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1988. 3, Benefits Derived from the Use of Animals.