Why We Need Animal Research Models
It seems this has become a popular topic again and I thought I would express my thoughts on it. As you can probably tell already from the title of this post I am pro-animal research. There are many reasons for me supporting animal research and I will lay out the facts as well as my general feelings on the topic.
Overall, living organisms are vastly complicated and all parts and systems of the body are interrelated. The nervous system, brain and blood chemistry, organ and endocrine secretions, and immunological responses are all one unit making it impossible to differentiate or predict how different diseases or treatments will effect one part of the body without looking at the whole living animal unit.
A drug everyone should be familiar with, Viagra, was original designed to treat pulmonary hypertension. Well during clinical trials on dogs researchers observed a surprising side effect of the medication… and as the story goes the rest is history. Now if this medication was not used in an animal model its other potential “side effects” would not have been observed. Now imagine if its side effect was more potent than an erection. Currently Viagra is commonly used in veterinary medicine to treat pulmonary hypertension and has just recently received the green light from the FDA to use it for this purpose in humans. It of course is still used for its flag raising effects in males.
People have often argued that animals are poor models for human drug pharmacokinetics because our physiology is so different. Once again, to that I would have to disagree. There are more biological processes and anatomical similarities that link us to other species than what differentiates us from them. In fact we share 99% of our DNA with chimpanzees and 98% of our DNA with mice, a prominent laboratory research subject. It is estimated canine models share over 400 disorders ranging from endocrinopathies to neoplasia that mirror their human counterparts, making them an exceptional model for disease and treatment.
It is estimated that there are between 17-23 million animals used in research yearly. Of these animals 95% of them are rats and mice specifically bred for research, only 4.25% are rabbits, guinea pigs, sheep, fish, frogs, insects, and other species. And even to a lesser extent 0.75% of the animals used in research are cats, dogs, and non-humane primates. In general researchers try to use alternative models for their research whenever possible, but animal models are by far the gold standard.
Additionally, animal research models benefit veterinary patients as well. Animal models have helped develop vaccines to fight diseases such as rabies, distemper, feline leukemia virus, canine infectious hepatitis virus, and tetanus to name a few. Animal models have also led to the understanding, prevention, and treatment of heartworm disease.
Other examples on how animal models have benefited man-kind:
- Herceptin – a humanised mouse protein – has helped to increase the survival rate of those with breast cancer; it could not have been attained without animal research in mice.
- Research on animals led to the development of Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapies (HAART), AIDS is no longer the death sentence it was 30 years ago.
- While Fleming discovered penicillin without using animals, he shared the Nobel Prize with Florey and Chain who, by testing it on mice, discovered how penicillin could be used to fight infections inside the body.
- Animal research is responsible for the development of asthma inhalers; asthma still kills around 2,000 people in the UK every year.
- Animal research has helped develop modern vaccines including those against Polio, TB, Meningitis and, recently, the human papillomavirus (HPV) which has been linked to cervical cancer.
- The development of Tamoxifen in animals led to a 30% fall in death rates from breast cancer in the 1990s.
- The 450,000 people in the UK suffering from Type I diabetes rely on Insulin – which was developed through experiments in rabbits and dogs.
- Smallpox has been eradicated from Earth thanks to research in animals.
So while animal testing may be an uncomfortable idea, it is definitely necessary. Next time your doctor sends you home with some antibiotic, just say a small thank you to all those mice that have contributed to science and made the world a better place.
A monument to all lab mice used for DNA research. - Novosibirsk, Russia
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