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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

How Will Our Children Continue to Benefit from Research

Treatments for asthma and other respiratory diseases Vaccines for polio, diphtheria, mumps, measles, rubella, pertussis and hepatitis Antibiotic and other anti-infective drugs Treatments for cancer Medications to control epilepsy Organ transplants and the drugs to prevent organ rejection Microsurgery to reattach severed limbs Prevention and treatment of birth defects Treatment for severe burns Remedies for childhood poisonings Use of antibiotics for treatment of cystic fibrosis Management and treatment of diabetes with insulin Treatment of sick newborns and premature infants with subsequent reduction of neonatal mortality Correction of congenital heart defects

Every year, millions of children are born with a life-threatening disease. Millions more are severely injured in accidents. Thanks to Biomedical Research... Our Sick Children Have a Fighting Chance.

Leading Causes of Deaths Among Children - and the Research Animals Used to Help Prevent these Deaths

Leading causes of death among children ages 1-14 (in North America, 1990):

Accidents: Development of ways to restore muscle function to human limbs paralyzed by spinal cord damage (primates). Malignant Neoplasms: More rapid evaluation of treatments In animal models with specific types of cancer (rodents). Congenital anomalies: Repair of congenital heart defects improved with development of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (sheep). Trauma: Studies of drugs that will improve recovery from brain wound injury (cats). Heart diseases: Development of prosthetic devices for replacement of heart valves (dogs, pigs). Pneumonia and Influenza: Studies of influenza viruses (ferrets). Suicide: The only animal model for severe depression; exhibits symptoms similar to those of humans (rats). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV): Major advance for vaccine and therapy studies is helped by development of an HIV-infected animal model (pigtailed macaques). Conditions originating in perinatal period: Studies investigating breathing during sleep to understand disorders like sudden infant death syndrome (cats). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: Development of first animal model for cystic fibrosis will allow much quicker exploration of new treatments (mice).

Do Animals Benefit from Research? YES.

Benefits for Animals

• 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 vitrofertilization and embryo transplants enable zoological societies to try to preserve the species.