Alternative Solutions for Animal Testing on Medication - Essay Example

Alternative solutions for Animal testing on medication Introduction I consider the animal testing to be to be a big problem in the United s. Researchers test pharmaceuticals in animals to determine toxicity, dosing, and efficacy before they start human clinical trials. Along with high costs and questionable efficiency it entails tremendous suffering of millions speechless living creatures. Not taking into account moral issues of this topic it should be said that there are practical and theoretical reasons for substitution of animal testing. I believe that besides saving countless lives of animals, alternatives to animal tests are quite efficient and reliable. The necessity to seek for the alternatives was underlined in 1954 by Russell and Burch by creating the principle of 3 Rs: reduction, refinement and replacement. “Replacement means the substitution for conscious living higher animals of insentient material. Reduction means reduction in the numbers of animals used to obtain information of given amount and precision. Refinement means any decrease in the incidence or severity of inhumane procedures applied to those animals which still have to be used” (Burch 108). Now this strategy is accepted as the guiding principle by the most governments and scientists. There is a number of sophisticated non-animal alternatives have been developed that sometimes are more dependable and less expensive the animal tests (The Rotarian). Thus, practical implementation of replacement principle became possible due to development of such alternatives as computer simulation system and in-vitro testing, that is conducted in artificial environment outside the living organism. Though replacement is the only animal-free strategy, reduction and refinement should not be underestimated. Thus building databases of tests to avoid duplication is another way to help to decrease animal suffering. Computer simulation models complicated human systems that are meant to allow testing new drugs and forecasting for example persons cardiac fate, the tasks for which animals are also used (Duncan, 2008). Nevertheless these techniques should be still tested and verified on animals and humans before they can be licensed. Modern programs for computer simulation are easy to use, run on run on universally available equipment, and powerful enough to handle most of the problems likely to interest the metabolic simulator. In Computer Simulation as a Tool for Studying Metabolism and Drug Design authors studied the Trypanosoma brucei (parasitic protist species that causes African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness) using computer simulation (Cornish-Bowden, Eisenthal 165). There was a high-quality data available for them for most of the enzymes of glycolysis in the bloodstream form of Trypanosoma brucei, including all of those likely to be influential in controlling glycolytic flux in this organism (Cornish-Bowden, Eisenthal 165). Due to the availability of the body of kinetic information it was possible to construct and validate a computer model of trypanosomal glycolysis. “T. brucei is the agent responsible for African sleeping sickness, a disease of major medical and economic importance, it becomes clear that it offers an ideal opportunity for exploring the potential value of computer simulation as a means of arriving at a better understanding of metabolism and hence a more rational approach to drug design” (Cornish-Bowden, Eisenthal 165). The results of these studies showed that “in ideal conditions computer simulation is capable of providing information that is qualitatively different from what may appear obvious from inspection, is of potential practical value for the design of new pharmaceuticals, and is reliable” (Cornish-Bowden, Eisenthal). Results of these studies led researchers to the conclusion that computer simulation is to become an essential tool for achieving success in drug development and other biotechnological applications. Computer simulation is as well widely used in drug design, modeling techniques for prediction of drug binding affinity are considered reasonably successful, but can not cover the full scope of research tasks. For example there are such properties as metabolic half life, bioavailability, lack of side effects, etc. that first must be carefully and reliably studied and optimized before the tested compound can become a safe and efficacious drug. Another solution for substitution of animal research is the method that uses cell and tissue culture (in vitro). It is used, for example, for screening for anti-cancer, anti-AIDS, and other types of drugs. One of the new and efficient in-vitro research methods was recently offered by Professor Jonathan Dordick of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Douglas Clark of the University of California. They developed the system that consists of two glass slides on of which contains an array of little blots containing human liver enzymes and the other - depending on the test - blots of bladder or liver or kidney, heart, skin, or lung cell cultures. Pressing these chips together allows to observe the human body’s reaction to the testing components (Science ahead). Scientists believe this new in-vitro product to be more efficient than animal testing in laboratories. Though scientists claim that the information received from in vitro experiments not always is proven by the laboratory tests on animals and humans. They explain that for example cell cultures and computer models are not able to develop arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease or other major health problems in humans (The Rotarian). In Immunology: a short course authors explain that due to the exquisite specificity of immune responses, the interaction between antigen and antibody in vitro is widely used for diagnostic purposes for the detection and identification of either antigen or antibody (Coico, Sunshine 61). Vast number of the immune researches use the reaction between antigen and serum antibodies (serology) serves as their basis. In vitro procedures allow the researches to simplify the studied system and concentrate on the necessary components. On the other hand the primary disadvantage of the in vitro trials is that the results can not always be set equal to the biology of the intact organism. They should be treated carefully while making conclusions concerning the biology of organisms and systems. As well scientists who develop new viral drugs have to prove the results on in vitro work in vivo before using it in clinics because of the different aspects of drug delivery to the specific tissues or toxicity towards certain part of the organism, etc. But can the animal testing be considered fully reliable? Sometimes applying animal tests results to humans can lead to disastrous consequences. Thus, for example, was in the cases with two drugs - Thalidomide and Oraflex - that were proven to be safe during animal research, were allowed on the market and then appeared to be toxic to humans. Conclusion Can the animal testing be completely stopped? It is impossible to predict for sure, but researchers continue to search for alternatives and it gives us hope. According to The Rotarian new technologies have already reduced animal experiments by 50 percent in the past few decades (The Rotarian). Many leading worldwide companies, such as Clinique, Avon, Oriflame, Revlon, turned cruelty-free, and I hope that is just a beginning. I believe this will encourage the human awareness about this issue to grow, new alternative methods to be found and finally the legislation will have to follow the evolvement of the humane and ethical treatment of animals. References: Burch, R.L, and W.M.S. Russell, eds. The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique. 1959. London, UFAW, Special edition, reprinted 1992. Coico R., Sunshine G, Immunology: a short course, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009, pg. 61. Cornish-Bowden A, Eisenthal R, Computer Simulation as a Tool for Studying Metabolism and Drug Design, 2000, pp. 165–172 Game of Hearts, David Ewing Duncan, Jul 16, 2008. http://www.portfolio.com/views/columns/natural-selection/2008/07/16/Using-Computers-to-Assess-the-Heart The 3Rs, The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, nvcc.edu, accessed May 11, 2011. http://www.nc3rs.org.uk/page.asp?id=7 http://www.scienceahead.com/entry/new-alternative-to-animal-testing-found/ New alternative to animal testing found, Science ahead, scienceahead.com, accessed May 11, 2011, http://www.scienceahead.com/entry/new-alternative-to-animal-testing-found/ The Rotarian, Rotary International, 1990, vol. 157,№ 5, accessed May 11, 2011, http://books.google.com.ua/books?id=UDIEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Animal+testing+on+medication&hl=ru&source=gbs_navlinks_s Read More