Virtually every medical advance has been made possible through the use of
animal models in research. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the
average life expectancy for human beings in Canada has increased from the
range of 45 to 75 years. While changes in our lifestyle (such as
improved nutrition, reduction in smoking, and proper exercise) have played a
part, this dramatic increase in our life expectancy is largely due to
advances in health care as a result of biomedical research. This life-saving
research has depended heavily on animal studies.
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This tombstone carving in a Vermont cemetery reflects the high infant
mortality of the late 1700's... when 50 percent of all deaths were
children under 10.
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Many of us take for granted the fact that biomedical research
consistently contributes to our high standard of health and health care.
We often do not think about how much our daily lives depend on the benefits
we have received, and continue to receive, from animal-based research. Take
one of the major killers of people: hypertension, or high blood
pressure. This disease may affect many of the people you know, because it
afflicts over 60 million people in North America alone.
In the 1930's, nothing was known about its causes until animal research
revealed that restriction of the blood supply to one kidney results in
permanent hypertension. Later, through animal studies, the role of diet,
hormones and brain lesions on blood pressure, were discovered and clarified.
This resulted in the development of a variety of drugs which can lower blood
pressure and greatly reduce the incidence of strokes and heart attacks. Millions
of lives have been improved and prolonged as a result. How many relatives
or friends do you know who have been made healthier as a result of high
blood pressure medication?
Also in the field of cardiology, the development of surgical
techniques for coronary bypass surgery was possible only through animal-based
research. The now-common procedure called angioplasty, a non-invasive
method of opening clogged arteries through the inflation of a balloon at
the site of the obstruction, is now reserving the health of thousands of
people who would otherwise have to undergo surgery, or die.
And what about cancer? This is the second leading cause of death
among Canadians after heart disease: cancer in some form will attack one
out of every four Canadians. Today, almost half of these cancer victims
will live at least five years longer, and many will attain complete
remission. Think about that accomplishment, considering that less than
20% survived five years after diagnosis in the 1930's. The survival rate
is over 50% today. The treatment of childhood leukemia, which
once claimed the lives of thousands of children, now has a success rate
of more than 70 percent.
Why has such dramatic progress been made in the fight against cancer? It
is largely due to the more than 30 drugs, radiation therapy and surgical
procedures now used every day to treat cancer. They can all be used now
because these treatments were first tried on mice, rats, dogs, monkeys and
other animals, before they were used on humans.
1.8 million Canadians -- and 135 million people worldwide -- have
diabetes, and more than half of them are alive today because
of insulin, which was discovered by research on dogs, purified,
and first used in Toronto in the 1920's. Today, studies on animal models
show great promise for a cure through pancreas implants or transplants.
We have been talking about some of the most prevalent and dreaded human
diseases. But, when thinking about the contributions which have been made
toward improving the health of human beings, we mustn't forget to mention
the whole spectrum of infectious diseases which have either been virtually
controlled, or have almost disappeared, as a result of vaccines - the
very vaccines you received as a child, against such diseases as: polio,
diphtheria, mumps, measles, lockjaw and hepatitis. Without animal studies
and testing, we would still be talking about these diseases every day because
they would be causing the death of our friends and loved ones. We also must
not forget that animal-based research has made every one of our modern surgical
operations possible and safer for people and animals today.
You probably have been told many times that sugar causes tooth decay or
that vitamins help your body utilize nutrients from food. Have you ever
wondered where these facts came from? Most of what we know about vitamins
and nutrition has been learned from animal studies. Even the glasses and
contact lenses which many of us are dependent upon for sight were developed
through the use of animal models.
Today, babies can survive and overcome many birth defects. Many premature babies pull through even though their bodies are very immature.
Why have doctors been able to save babies who have birth defects or who have been born too early? They can be saved because of drugs, surgical procedures and management techniques developed first on animals.
Biomedical research benefits our children in many other ways.
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We mustn't think only about past accomplishments. What about the future? What about
the diseases we worry about today, diseases for which we have no cure right now?
Cardiovascular Disease is the number one natural killer in North America.
Alzheimer's disease is a major cause of disability and death among our elderly,
and its cause still remains a mystery. AIDS is a tragic disease which almost
always leads to death. In the less than 20 years since AIDS made its appearance, several
helpful drugs have already been developed. Babies still die from a disease called
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. We can only conquer these diseases,
for which no cure now exists, if we continue to do research. We need living organisms
to help us find these answers.
- Embryo Transfer Techniques to Improve Breeding
- Genetic Research on Inherited Diseases in Pedigree Animals
- Tooth & Gum Disease Research
- Treatment for Parasites (heartworm, hookworm, river blindness)
- Vaccines:
- Control of major epidemic diseases such as rabies and distemper through preventive vaccines is a landmark accomplishment for veterinary medicine.
- Canine parvo virus, an infectious disease that first surfaced in the late 1970's, was quickly controlled because veterinary scientists identified the cause and produced an effective vaccine.
- Vaccines developed through animal research also protect cats from rabies, feline respiratory disease and feline leukemia, an incurable cancer that affects the blood-forming organs.
- Vaccine for Newcastle disease in poultry.
- Vaccines for livestock diseases (hog cholera, anthrax, tetanus, blue tongue in sheep).
- Vaccines for rabies, distemper, parvo virus, and infectious hepatitis in dogs.
Nutrition: One type of heart disease, a leading cause of death in cats, was
eliminated by supplementing diets with taurine, a vital amino acid. Modification of diets also
helps to prevent feline urologic syndrome (FUS), which affects cats of both sexes.
Dietary modification is also used in the treatment of heart and kidney disease in dogs.
Treatment for vitamin and mineral deficiencies (rickets, white muscle disease
in cattle).
Heartworm: A rapid and accurate test now facilitates diagnosis of this insect-transmitted
disease. Heartworm medication, also discovered through animal research, is one of the most
important advances in the history of veterinary medicine. It has also benefited humans with
river blindness.
Lyme Disease: Spread by ticks, this disease causes arthritis, as well as
heart and kidney problems in dogs. Animal research led to a vaccine to prevent
infection, as well as more accurate diagnostic techniques.
Orthopedics: Orthopedic surgery, rehabilitation and diagnostic techniques, developed
for people through animal research, are now used to prevent serious equine bone injuries and
help horses with broken legs. Artificial joints relieve suffering in dogs affected by hip
dysplasia and elbow problems.
Endangered Species: Many endangered species have a chance of surviving thanks to
biomedical research on in vitro fertilization and embryo transplant techniques.
- A popular PBS special "Chu Lin: The Baby Panda" tells us that Chu Lin was brought into this world using in vitro fertilization.
- An endangered species of antelope, the African bongo, is increasing in number in captive breeding programs due to the use of embryo transplant techniques developed through animal research.
- As numbers of an endangered species dwindle to a precious few, in vitro fertilization and embryo transplants enable zoological societies to try to preserve the species.
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