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Better Science
Alternatives
to Vivisection:
Non-Animal Methods in Biomedical Research
Epidemiological
Studies
- Epidemiology
is the study of health characteristics in human populations
and the application of this study to the control of health
problems. (1)
- The Framingham
heart study, initiated in 1948 with 5, 209 original participants,
monitors the city's population and established a link between
heart disease and risk factors, such as elevated cholesterol
levels and high blood pressure. (2)
- Epidemiological
studies revealed that smoking is associated with lung cancer.
(3)
- AIDS was
first identified in epidemiological studies when rare infections
and malignancies began showing up in patients in the late
1970's. (4)
Clinical
Studies
- Carefully
managed clinical trials provide information about human
health and disease. (5)
- Clinical
studies have shown that lowering cholesterol levels with
drugs, diet or both greatly reduces subsequent heart attacks
and stroke. (6)
- Drugs for
treating AIDS and HIV infection, including AZT, were identified
in clinical trials or in in vitro (test tube) studies. (7)
Autopsies
and Post-Mortem Studies
- Human autopsy
is the examination, after death, of the tissues and organs
of the human body to determine cause of death or existence
of pathological conditions. (8)
- Autopsy
research has been responsible for the discovery and description
of thousands of diseases, including Legionnaire's disease,
viral hepatitis, aplastic anemia and fetal alcohol syndrome.
(9)
- Autopsies
can be especially useful in studying environmental and occupational
diseases, cancer, heart disease, neurological disorders,
AIDS, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and aging. (10)
Post-Marketing
Surveillance
- Using computer
technology, detailed and comprehensive records can be collected
and maintained on the side-effects of drugs. This information,
if stored in a central database, would enable rapid identification
of dangerous drugs. (11)
- Unexpected
beneficial side-effects of drugs can also be recognized
in post-marketing surveillance. (12)
- The anti-cancer
properties of nitrogen mustard and actinomycin D and the
mood-elevating effects of tricyclic antidepressants were
all discovered through clinical observation of side-effects.
(13)
Non-Invasive
Imaging Techniques
- Non-invasive
imaging techniques, such as CAT, MRI, PET and SPECT can
reveal how the human body works and can monitor the progress
of disease and response to therapy. (14)
- CAT scans
use computers to reconstruct three-dimensional images of
the body from X-rays. (15)
- MRI (Magnetic
Resonance Imaging) has allowed investigators to make functional
maps of the human brain and evaluate patients with epilepsy.
(16)
- MRI can
also monitor changes in blood flow and may reveal new insights
into the mechanism of stroke. (17)
- PET (Positron
Emission Tomography) and SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computerized
Tomography) use compounds that have been tagged with isotopes
and measure how these interact with the human body. (18)
- PET using
tagged cocaine has been used to study drug addiction, by
revealing where cocaine binds in the human brain. (19)
- PET and
SPECT have also been used to study Alzheimer's, Parkinson's
and Huntington's disease, cerebrovascular disease and psychiatric
disorders. (20)
Tissue
and Cell Culture
- Cells or
tissues can be obtained from human volunteers, surgical
operations, biopsies and post- mortem specimens, cultured
in the laboratory and used for in vitro (test tube) studies.
(21)
- Some cells
can be immortalized to form cell lines that provide a constant
supply of identical test material. (22)
- The National
Cancer Institute (NCI) switched from screening potential
anti-cancer drugs on leukemic mice to a battery of human
cancer cell lines. The cell lines are cheaper, more reliable
and provide information directly applicable to humans. (23)
- AIDS drugs
can be screened in vitro by determining whether they block
the virus' ability to kill human T-cells.(24)
- Diseased
human tissue can be used for study and to evaluate drug
therapies; for example, researchers in Germany study heart
disease by using diseased human heart muscle preparations.
(25)
- Placental
tissue, which is usually discarded after birth, is physiologically
complex and can be used for pharmacological studies. (26)
Microbiological Studies
- Microorganisms,
such as bacteria, are ideally suited for screening large
numbers of toxins, mutagens and irritants. They reproduce
rapidly and can be maintained at low cost. (27)
- The Ames
test uses salmonella bacteria to assess a chemical's potential
for mutagenicity (its ability to alter a cell's hereditary
information), which is one of the steps in the formation
of cancer. (28)
Mathematical
and Computer Models
- Mathematical
models use human clinical and epidemiological data to generate
theories about complex disease processes; for example, a
mathematical model has revealed that there are two distinct
types of breast cancer, which require different therapies.
(29)
- How drugs
work (their activity) is determined by their structure.
New drugs can be designed using computers to evaluate structure-activity
relationships. (30)
- Computer
models can simulate human disease states and allow physicians
to try out new therapies and drugs. (31)
Chromatography
and Spectroscopy
- These are
physical and chemical techniques that identify, isolate
and measure compounds in drugs, toxins and bodily fluids,
such as blood or urine. (32)
- Physiochemical
techniques have replaced the use of animals in assays for
vitamins A, D and E (33) and can identify the amount of
drugs taken in case of an overdose. (34)
- Chromatographic
techniques separate components of a mixture. (35)
- Spectroscopy
measures the energy absorbed or emitted from a compound
when bombarded by an energy source and is used to identify
the components of a mixture. (36)
References
- Kelsey, J. L. and Parker, S. "Epidemiology
as an alternative to animal research." Non-Animal Techniques
in Biomedical and Behavioral Research and Testing (M.B.
Kapis and S.C. Gad, eds., Ann Arbor: Lewis Publishers, 1993)
p. 165.
- Sytkowski, P. A., D'Agostino,
R. B., Belanger, A. and Kannel, W. B. "Sex and time trends
in cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality: The Framingham
Heart Study, 1950-1989. American Journal of Epidemiology,
Vol. 143, 1996, pp. 338-339.
- Kelsey, J. L. and Parker, S.,
p. 167.
- Kelsey, J. L. and Parker, S.,
p. 178.
- Stephens, M. L. Alternatives to
Current Uses of Animals in Research, Safety Testing, and
Education: A Layman's Guide (Washington, D.C.: The Humane
Society of the United States,1986), p. 29.
- Bryne, K. P. Understanding and
Managing Cholesterol: A Guide for Wellness Professionals
(Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Books, 1991), p. 5.
- Kelsey, J. L. and Parker, S.,
p. 179.
- Kapis, M. B. "Human autopsies
in biomedical research." Non-Animal Techniques in Biomedical
and Behavioral Research and Testing (M.B. Kapis and S.C.
Gad, eds., Ann Arbor: Lewis Publishers, 1993), p. 195.
- Kapis, M. B., pp. 196-197.
- Kapis, M. B., p. 198.
- Kaufman, S. R., Cohen, M. J.,
Cramer, M. J., Contard, P. C., Hahner, K. and Todd, B. A
Critical Look at Animal Experimentation (Medical Research
Modernization Committee, 1995), p. 8.
- Kaufman et al., p. 8.
- Kaufman et al., p. 8.
- Morris, P. G. "Magnetic resonance
and the use of animals." Non-Animal Techniques in Biomedical
and Behavioral Research and Testing (M.B. Kapis and S.C.
Gad, eds., Ann Arbor: Lewis Publishers, 1993), pp. 237-238.
- Allison, R. "How did we get here?
Advances in Radiology." Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine Update, Spring 1992, p. 6.
- Mazziotta, J. C. "Mapping human
brain activity in vivo." Western Journal of Medicine, Vol.161,
1994, p. 276.
- Morris, P. G., p. 245.
- Mazziotta, J. C., p. 276.
- Maltz, G. "PET offers insight
into the chemistry of cocaine addiction." Clinical Psychiatry
News, September 1994, p. 8.
- Mazziotta, p. 276.
- Alternatives to Animal Use in
Research, Testing, and Education. Office of Technology Assessment,
Congress of the United States (New York: Marcel Dekker,
Inc., 1988) p. 123.
- Sweetnam, P., Bauer, C. and Charlton,
M. "In vitro techniques for use in drug discovery." Non-Animal
Techniques in Biomedical and Behavioral Research and Testing
(M.B. Kapis and S.C. Gad, eds., Ann Arbor: Lewis Publishers,
1993) p. 50.
- "Drug discovery screen adapts
to changes." Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol.
82,1990, p. 1087.
- Rice, W. G. and Bader, J. P. "Discovery
and in vitro development of AIDS antiviral drugs as biopharmaceuticals."
Advances in Pharmacology, Vol. 33, 1995, pp. 402-405.
- Schror, K. and Verhaggen, R. "Use
of human post-mortem cerebral blood vessels to study vasospasm."
Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, Vol. 9, 1988, p. 71.
- Stephens, M. L., p. 33.
- Alternatives to Animal Use in
Research, p. 123.
- Alternatives to Animal Use in
Research, pp. 187-188.
- Kaufman, et al., pp. 8-9.
- Rao, S. N. "Modeling drug-nucleic
acid interactions: An exercise in computer graphics and
computational chemistry." Nucleic Acid Target Drug Design
(Propst, C. L. and Perun, T. J., eds., New York: Marcel
Dekker, Inc., 1992) pp. 66, 88.
- Witten, M. "Computational modeling
of biological/medical systems." Non-Animal Techniques in
Biomedical and Behavioral Research and Testing (M.B. Kapis
and S.C. Gad, eds., Ann Arbor: Lewis Publishers, 1993),
p. 128.
- Kapis, M. B. "Physicochemical
techniques in biological research and testing." Non-Animal
Techniques in Biomedical and Behavioral Research and Testing
(M.B. Kapis and S.C. Gad, eds., Ann Arbor: Lewis Publishers,
1993), p. 217.
- Strohecker, R. and Henning, H.
M. Vitamin Assay - Tested Methods (Verlag Chemie, 1965)
pp. 34, 271, 296-297.
- Seiler, H. G., Sigel, H. and Sigel,
A. Handbook on Toxicity of Inorganic Compounds (New York:
Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1988) p. 208.
- Kapis, M. B., pp. 217-218.
- Kapis, M. B., p. 218.
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