What are the alternatives to animal testing?

Question

When researchers need to develop a drug or medication that will ultimately benefit multitudes of people, they turn to certain animals for tests and trials.

Animals have provided us with many answers regarding a vast amount of human diseases of illnesses over the years. As a famous ad once said: "They've saved more lives than 911."

For those of you who are opposed to all forms of animal testing, would you please give suggestions or alternatives to these methods? I'm sure many of you already have some good ideas.

Answer 1

Besides saving countless animal lives, alternatives to animal tests are efficient and reliable. Unlike crude, archaic animal tests, non-animal methods usually take less time to complete, cost only a fraction of what the animal experiments they replace cost, and are not plagued with species differences that make extrapolation difficult or impossible. Effective, affordable, and humane research methods include studies of human populations, volunteers, and patients, as well as sophisticated in vitro, genomic, and computer-modeling techniques.

Forward-thinking companies are exploring modern alternatives. For example, Pharmagene Laboratories, based in Royston, England, is the first company to use only human tissues and sophisticated computer technologies in the process of drug development and testing. With tools from molecular biology, biochemistry, and analytical pharmacology, Pharmagene conducts extensive studies of human genes and how drugs affect those genes or the proteins they make. While some companies have used animal tissues for this purpose, Pharmagene scientists believe that the discovery process is much more efficient with human tissues. “If you have information on human genes, what’s the point of going back to animals?” says Pharmagene cofounder Gordon Baxter.(1)

Alternatives for Research
Comparative studies of human populations allow doctors and scientists to discover the root causes of human diseases and disorders so that preventive action can be taken. Epidemiological studies led to the discoveries of the relationship between smoking and cancer and to the identification of heart disease risk factors.(2) Population studies also demonstrated the mechanism of the transmission of AIDS and other infectious diseases and also showed how these diseases can be prevented.(3)

In the course of treating patients, much has been learned about the causes of diseases and disorders. Studies of human patients using sophisticated scanning technology (e.g., MRI, PET, and CT) have isolated abnormalities in the brains of patients with schizophrenia and other disorders.(4)

Cell and tissue culture (in vitro) studies are used to screen for anti-cancer, anti-AIDS, and other types of drugs, and they are also a means of producing and testing a number of other pharmaceutical products, including vaccines, antibiotics, and therapeutic proteins. The U.S. National Disease Research Interchange provides more than 120 types of human tissue to scientists investigating diabetes, cancer, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma, and other human diseases.(5) In vitro genetic research has isolated specific markers, genes, and proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, muscular dystrophy, schizophrenia, and other inherited diseases.

Those who experiment on animals artificially induce disease; clinical investigators study people who are already ill or who have died. Animal experimenters want a disposable “research subject” who can be manipulated as desired and killed when convenient; clinicians must do no harm to their patients or study participants. Animal experimenters face the unavoidable fact that their artificially created “animal model” can never fully reflect the human condition, whereas clinical investigators know that the results of their work are directly relevant to people.


Alternatives for Testing
Alternatives to the use of animals in toxicity testing include replacing animal tests with non-animal methods, as well as modifying animal-based tests to reduce the number of animals used and to minimize pain and distress. Non-animal tests are generally faster and less expensive than the animal tests they replace and improve upon.

To date, several non-animal test methods have been formally validated and accepted by some countries as replacements for an existing animal test. Examples include:

• An embryonic stem cell test, using mouse-derived cells to assess potential toxicity to developing embryos, has been validated as a partial replacement for birth-defect testing in rats and rabbits.(6)
• The 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity Test, which uses cells grown in culture to assess the potential for sunlight-induced (“photo”) irritation to the skin.
• Human skin model tests such as the validated EpiDerm™ test, which has been accepted almost universally as a total replacement for skin corrosion studies in rabbits.(7)
• The use of human skin leftover from surgical procedures or donated cadavers can be used to measure the rate at which a chemical is able to penetrate the skin.
• The use of a clinical patch test in human volunteers, which can confirm that a chemical will not cause irritation or allergic skin reactions.(8)

For more detailed information about non-animal test methods that are available or under development, visit ECVAM.jrc.it and StopAnimalTests.com.


Alternatives for Education
The majority of medical schools in the United States, including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, have replaced their use of live animals in physiology, pharmacology, and/or surgical-training exercises with humane and effective non-animal teaching methods, including observation of actual human cardiac bypass surgery, patient simulators, cadavers, sophisticated computer programs, and more.

In addition to being more humane, non-animal teaching tools such as computer simulations, multimedia CD-ROMs, and models are also more economical than traditional animal-based teaching exercises.(9) Whereas the “traditional” approach involves the acquisition and disposal of animals on an ongoing basis, purchasing a set of CD-ROMs represents a one-time expenditure for a product that can be used repeatedly for many years. Schools can save tens of thousands of dollars each year by implementing re-usable replacements for animal “specimens.”

Studies have shown that non-animal teaching methods are as effective as older, less humane methods. For example:

• A study of first-year biology undergraduates found that examination results of those students who used model rats were equivalent to those who had performed rat dissections.(10)

• A similar study examined a class of first-year biology students, half of whom used traditional “hands-on” laboratories while the remainder used computer software. Biology knowledge of the computer-taught students increased significantly more than did that of the traditional group.(11)

Several Web sites provide descriptions, prices, and ordering information for thousands of alternative learning materials. Following are two excellent databases that focus specifically on alternatives in education:

• The Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights


• Norwegian Inventory of Audiovisuals (NORINA)


The following animal protection organizations have established “alternatives loan” programs for students who need to borrow a non-animal software program or other teaching tool in order to satisfy a course requirement without having to bear the financial burden of purchasing the product:

• Ethical Science Education Coalition
617-367-9143


• Humane Society of the United States
301-258-3041


• National Anti-Vivisection Society
1-800-888-NAVS

What You Can Do
Virtually all federally funded research is paid for with your tax dollars. Two of the main funders of animal-based research in North America, the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, need to hear that you don’t want your tax dollars used to underwrite animal experiments, whatever their purpose.

Write to the heads of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, National Toxicology Program, and Health Canada and urge them to stop requiring cruel and obsolete animal tests for pharmaceuticals and allow companies to substitute in vitro tests.

Whether you are a student, a parent, or a concerned taxpayer, you can act to end the use of animals in your city’s education system. If you are expected to perform or observe a dissection, talk to your teacher as early as possible about alternative projects. Call the Dissection Hotline at 1-800-922-FROG (3764) for tips on what to say and how to proceed. If there is an animal rights group at your school or in your community, ask them to help. Parents can urge their local Parent-Teacher Association to ask the area superintendent of schools or school board to consider a proposal to ban animal-based teaching exercises in public schools or at least give all students the option of doing a non-animal project. It may help to collect signatures on a petition and to present the school board with information on the cruelty of animal-based teaching exercises and on readily available alternatives.

If you own stock in a company that conducts animal tests, introduce a shareholder resolution opposing the use of animals.

Visit www.StopAnimalTests.com to view current action alerts and learn more about how you can help put an end to the harmful use of animals in education.


References
1) “Pioneers Cut Out Animal Experiments,” New Scientist, 31 Aug. 1996.
2) Christopher Anderegg et al., “A Critical Look at Animal Experimentation,” Medical Research Modernization Committee, 2002.
3) Samuel Baron, M.D. et al., Medical Microbiology, 4th ed., University of Texas: Churchill Livingstone Inc, 1996.
4) Kelvin O. Lim et al., “In Vivo Structural Brain Assessment,” The American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2000.
5) National Resource Center, “Human Tissue Lists,” National Disease Research Exchange, last accessed 5 Nov. 2004.
6) Michael Balls, “The Use of Scientifically-Validated In Vitro Tests for Embryotoxicity,” European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods, 3 Jun. 2002.
7) Michael Balls, “Statement on the Application of the Epiderm™ Human Skin Model For Skin Corrosivity Testing,” European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods, 21 Mar. 2000.
8) Government of Canada, “Guidelines for the Notification of New Substances: Chemicals and Polymers,” Aug. 2001.
9) Jonothan Balcombe, Ph.D., The Use of Animals in Higher Education. Problems, Alternatives, and Recommendations, Washington, D.C.: Humane Society Press, 2000.
10) Balcombe.
11) Balcombe.

Answer 2

I'm not entirely opposed to it. I think it should be reduced when and where it can, but I value human life and I think animal testing is only disgusting when it's unecessary. But they do have alternatives for some things.
If you call up Johnson and Johnson they will tell you about what they're doing. They have reduced animal testing as much as possible over there. They don't have the technology yet to completely replace animals, but they are on their way.

Mama bear, I hope you read this. Rats and mice, whether or not you consider them animals, are in fact animals and do feel pain. They don't deserve to suffer either. They use domestic rats, not sewer rats for lab work. And domestic rats are very smart and good natured.

Answer 3

On a serious note, animal testing alternatives are very few. Experiments on human subjects are regulated for some very good reasons ( google Belmont report). In many areas animal testing is the only answer as it provides safety to humans.

Answer 4

Murderers.... rapists.... child molesters...terrorists... drunk drivers that have repeated offences that have killed people. Any of these people who have been found guilty, with no doubt of their innocense.

These people are the scum of the earth. Give them a choice... death sentence OR.. drug testor... if you live... then you only have to spend the rest of your life in prison but you'll still be alive! Hey, if they can't do the time.. they shouldn't do the crime! They don't deserve special consideration. Prisons are too soft on criminals... tv... gyms... 3 square/day... phone calls.. education.. library... etc, etc, etc.. the hell with that... make 'em test drugs.. if they have a disease... a problem... an illness.. use them. If they end up with serious side effects... good.. then we'll know how the drugs really affect humans. If they don't, (too bad) but then we'll know that too.

Answer 5

Sure, it's possible to perform some testing on specialized tissue cultures or genetically engineered bacteria or yeast cells. A lot of false starts could probably be eliminated by computer modelling.

Answer 6

Actually I have some great ideas on this subject. I think instead of testing on harmless animals - why not test on prison inmates. they are useless and we know harmful ( I mean murderers, child molesters, the really lowest of the low) - we pay for them to live for free in jail and eat and watch TV - we should get something out of keeping those low lives alive - don't ya' think????

Kevlar - you are my hero!!!! WAY TO GO!!!!

Answer 7

In a simplified scheme, drugs are first tested in a cell/tissue culture and/or purified target of the drug, then animals, then humans. I guess, those who oppose animal testing could volunteer themselves... Hm :/

For the record, I am not opposed to animal testing. Thanks to them we have all the life saving drugs and vaccines.

Answer 8

I don't consider rodents (mice and rats in particular) animals, and find nothing wrong with testing on them - please take them all off the streets.

I believe at one time death row and life imprisoned people could volunteer to test things - but don't know if that is true at this time. If a person is sentenced to death anyway, I don't see any harm if he wanted to volunteer during his wait.

Answer 9

Hippie testing!!

animal testing is a terrible thing, but i think its a necessary evil. it does end up causing a lot of good.

Answer 10

People have tested drugs as well.

Answer 11

I propose lawyers.

Most scientists believe they are the closest thing to rats.