Is animal research sufficiently evidence based to be a cornerstone of biomedical research?

Abstract

Public acceptance of the use of animals in biomedical research is conditional on it producing benefits for humans. Pandora Pound and Michael Bracken argue that the benefits remain unproved and may divert funds from research that is more relevant to doctors and their patients Pandora Pound medical sociologist 1 , Michael B Bracken Susan Dwight Bliss professor of epidemiology 2Proponents of animal research claim that the benefits to humans are self evident. 1 However, writing in The BMJ 10 years ago we argued that such uncorroborated claims were inadequate in an era of evidence based medicine. 2 At that time over two thirds of UK government and charitable investment was going into basic research, 3 perhaps creating an expectation that such research was highly productive of clinical benefits. However, when we searched for systematic evidence to support claims about the clinical benefits of animal research we identified only 25 systematic reviews of animal experiments, and these raised serious doubts about the design, quality, and relevance of the included studies. As our colleagues had done earlier, 4 we argued the case that systematic reviews should be extensively adopted within animal research to synthesise and appraise findings, just as they are in clinical research.The conduct, reporting, and synthesis of much animal research continues to be inadequate This current situation is unethical since animals and humans participate in research that cannot produce reliable resultsThere is insufficient systematic evidence for the clinical benefits of animal research Greater rigour and accountability is needed to ensure best use of public fundsFor personal use only: See rights and reprints

Role of the autonomic nervous system in activation of human brown adipose tissue: A review of the literature

“…BAT was found in 18% of the 6-18 F-FDA PET scans, 19% of the 18 F-FDG PET-CTs and 18% of the 123 I-mIBG SPECT scans. Even though the uptake of 6-18 F-FDA, 18 F-FDG and 123 I-mIBG in BAT was not always concordant, it was clear that 6-18 F-FDA can localize BAT [27].…”

“…Animal studies show that cold sensation in the skin, by cooling cutaneous thermal sensory receptors and lowering core body temperature, initiates peripheral vasoconstriction, resulting in the release of the sympathetic neurotransmitter norepinephrine in BAT to maintain normal body temperature [16,17]. However, data derived from rodent research on the stimulating factors of BAT are not easily translated to humans, and it remains to be determined whether the same pathways are involved in human adults [18][19][20].…”

Organs-on-a-Chip: A Future of Rational Drug-Design

“…Clinicians and the public often consider it axiomatic that animal research has contributed to the treatment of human disease, yet little evidence is available to support this view [1]. The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) performed a systematic survey of 271 animal studies and found that only 32 (12%) reported using random allocation to treatment or control and that investigators were blinded to the allocation in only 14% (5/35) of studies that used qualitative scoring [2]. Reports have also shown evidence of selective analysis, outcome reporting bias and publications bias [1] [2].…”

“…The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) performed a systematic survey of 271 animal studies and found that only 32 (12%) reported using random allocation to treatment or control and that investigators were blinded to the allocation in only 14% (5/35) of studies that used qualitative scoring [2]. Reports have also shown evidence of selective analysis, outcome reporting bias and publications bias [1] [2]. Conventional drug development comes with numerous [5].…”

“…Conventional drug development comes with numerous [5]. This has led to even the most promising findings in animal research often failing in human trials and rarely being adopted into clinical practice [2].…”