Experimental Pharmaceutical on Animals - Research Paper Example

Running Header: Experimental Pharmaceutical on Animals Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Executive summary The objective of this report was to critically take a look at the process of animal pharmaceutical on diseases and establish how the process has helped develop different cures, ensure safety of human beings from dangerous diseases such as tuberculosis, cancer, HIV/AIDS and Malaria. The report has established that animal testing has gained a lot of support and recognition from various quotas because of its role in treating various diseases that are very dangerous to mankind. HIV/AIDS is one of those diseases that have necessitated the need to work more biomedical testing as medical researchers and practitioners are working on ways to develop the vaccine and cure for the disease. The other diseases that researchers have managed to develop cures and vaccines for include: meningitis, diabetes and breast cancer. Further, biomedical research has been very critical in studying and understanding the process of transplanting. This has helped replace damaged or dysfunctional body organs such as the heart, the liver and the lung from animals. Finally, even though animal testing is playing a very critical role in the field of medicine, there some opposing powers especially from those activities that are of the view animal rights are being infringed. 1.0 Introduction In many years, world over, debate on vivisection has been raging. This is because of the perceived support the pharmaceutical approach gives to the medical researchers to come up with cures and different methods to cure different diseases and ways in which human organs dysfunction can be improved. The development of different therapeutic and other diagnostic products from animals for use by mankind is a very complex and involving process (Remfry 45). Take the example of all the efforts that have been put to discover the treatment and vaccine for HIV. Numerous tests have been carried on animals which have all proved futile. This is because HIV continuous change on the structure and thus making it very difficult for cure to be found. However, in an ideal world, carrying out these tests on human beings will have taken quite sometime and at the same posed serious dangers to lives of many as some of the compounds of the cures and vaccines being tested are very harmful (Bagb 68). In general, what we trying to say is that the context in which animal experimentation is being carried out is very important (Europa). In particular, this report will seek to critically evaluate, the importance of experimental pharmaceuticals on animals in discovering new cures, saving mankind from dangerous diseases such HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and many others and in the development of the process of transplanting different organs from animals to human beings. 2.0 Preparation and production of cures Vivisection is done mainly for three reasons: one is to ensure that all new drugs and other pharmaceutical products developed for human use are safe and have very minimal site effects, second, is to establish if at all the pharmaceutical products that have been developed are effective in human treatment and finally, the general research into the live of animals and how they function and the effects of different diseases in the body of a human being (Bagb 68).. However, the objective of this party of the report is to look into the importance of using animal tests in the development of cures for different diseases. Take the example of the process of trying to develop cure and vaccine for HIV. The efforts being made by researchers in the process are giving new hope to the victims of the disease and the same time even those that are already using such drugs are assured of their safety (Speaking of research 2012). This is because they believe that the drugs have been fully tested are safe for human consumption. In the process of developing new cures, vivisection is used to determine the effectiveness of the drug on the live of a human being based on the findings from animal testing. Animal testing is much recognized in the fight against HIV. In the recent past, researchers world over for example, have been working to establish the reasons behind the continuous genetic alteration of the genes in certain animals and more particularly which provide them with the immune that resembles that of the human beings and that has made them susceptible to infections by HIV. It has been established that such animals could provide a very rich ground to developing more effective vaccines and at the same time develop those cures that are safer. However, this work is receiving a lot of opposition from those people who believe that by genetically modifying the animal genes is immoral and unsafe. In the process of trying to find cure, for HIV, it was recently proposed by the researchers that another best alternative for finding cure for HIV, is to infect the mice with the chimeric form of HIV that is similar to the ‘SHIV’ that affect its primates and try to find out ways in which it will react and the possible cures for the infection (Remfry 43). According to Lackner (469), “regulations that manage and control animal testing, are persistently being tightened and viewer animals are currently used to carry out experiments as opposed to before. Country like U.K has one of the tightest rules on use of animals for research and that all facilities where animals have to be put must be thoroughly inspected to ensure high level of hygiene, safety and comfortable environment.” In addition to efforts that have been made to discover cure for HIV, animal testing has seen major break-through in discovering cure for diseases such as cancer, Diabetes and tuberculosis. It’s therefore arguable that animal testing and research has managed to cause more benefits than harm. For example, according to the report by Professor Robert Palazzo the president of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), “Americans are living longer, healthier lives and we owe much of that success to biomedical research, this follows the extensive biomedical research that has been carried out in the united states to try and unfold some cures for different diseases that affect people” (Bagb 68). The research has further helped discover treatments for various diseases which have helped cure millions of people across the globe. Take the example of Meningitis. This is a life threatening disease. Meningitis can be can be described as in inflammation those membranes that surround the brain and the spinal cord as a result of invasion by various organisms like bacteria and virus. Before the discovery for meningitis cure, 70% of the 3000 cases in the United Kingdom passed on. However, after the discovery the mortality rate of the cases related to meningitis reduced significantly to 10% towards the end of the 20th century. In essence what has been concluded here is that animal testing has been very fundamental to understanding the causes of certain bacterial diseases and consequently aided the process of developing the most appropriate cure (Speaking of research 2012). 3.0 Saving of humans from dangerous diseases Research on the diseases that affects the primates is very critical in cures and medicine for them. Given the current global situation which has witnessed emergence of new diseases, it has been established by the researchers that there is need to take urgent measures to prevent mankind from invasion. Vaccines, and antibiotics as well as antivirals are among the medicines that have been developed to fight life threatening diseases such as HIV, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), malaria, tuberculosis and avian influenza. Before different medicines are used in curing different diseases, tests have to be performed to make sure that they are effective and appropriate in for human consumption (Europa). It has been established that some of the drugs developed for new and emerging diseases may have long some serious effects if they are not carefully assessed to ascertain their adequacy. The choice of the method of testing and animal to be used for testing is based on the disease being investigated even though for many years non-human primates (NHPs) have remained favorites in these experiments their immune systems is also similar to that of human beings. The primates are only used because they are mammals and they can be infected with certain diseases the same way as human beings. Primates are particularly used to determine the transmission rate and the overall effect of the disease across the world. This part of the report is particularly interested in analyzing and presenting some of the diseases that have been cured by the process of animal experimentation and that might have been very dangerous to mankind (Speaking of research 2012). 3.1 HIV The non-human primates (NHPs) are the most preferred animals because they are they are the only mammals that present the important aspects that can also be presented by human beings. These animals have been very critical in the process of studying and understanding the different immune systems and how they can be used to understand HIV/AIDS trends. This has been important in understanding the disease can be stopped by developing less harmful, accessible and cost effective drugs for use by human beings. According to Veazey (87), “Even though the numerous tests that have been carried on HIV-vaccines have not been so successful, it is still arguable that it’s important to do even more tests on animals before doing any clinical test on human beings.” 3.2 Tuberculosis Tuberculosis is one of those diseases that have posed a great danger to mankind. Tuberculosis is also closely associated with HIV/AIDS. This is because both diseases are triggered by the fall in the immune system in the body of an individual. The Tuberculosis vaccine was first developed in the earlier in 20th century. However, so far, there has not been any animal that has been decided to be best suited in studying Tuberculosis and draw concrete solutions on how to go about applying different vaccines on human beings because of the high danger they are assumed to have to human life. With this regard therefore, several animals are being used including the mice and the guinea big to come up with he most favourable vaccine that can be applied in clinics. This is to mean that only those vaccines that have been tested on NHPs that are being allowed by medical practitioners to be used in clinical trials (Veazey 78). 3.3 Malaria Even though for many years, Malaria has been seen as a common disease that is easily curable, it has continued to be among the top killer diseases in the world and more especially in the Sub-Saharan Africa (Eran 110). Development of vaccine for malaria has proved very difficult since there are four parasites that cause it and that each parasite goes through four stages and at each time it presents very different substance that has to be fought by the body immune system called antigen. So far, its only the owl monkey and squirrel monkey alongside the chimpanzee that have been found to be more suited in studying the malaria parasite and they are only used in small numbers (Tropini 67). In general, different animals have proved worthy in studying about various diseases that are seen as a threat to mankind and that have no specific cure like HIV/AIDS, cancer and tuberculosis. Animal testing has therefore, has opened ways for developing safe and most effective medical intervention strategies for many diseases. Further, animal testing has also helped develop immediate and urgent cures for diseases such as SARS, Ebola and swine flu which have occurred as emergency diseases in the recent past (Speaking of research 2012). 4.0 Transplants from animals Transplant is a very important surgical procedure where part of the tissue or the whole of the organ is transferred from one organism to another (Eran 110). This is purposely done to replace the organ that has failed to function. This is commonly done when the organ to be replaced has been dialyzed and found to be totally irreparable. The commonly replaced body organs include: the hearth, the kidney, the liver and the lung. Further, transplant can also involve the transfer of cells that can be used to treat certain diseases such as cystic fibrosis and diabetes as well as Parkinson’s disease. However, even though the process of transplant has been widely recognized and accepted across the globe, the problem that has been emerging is that there is a serious shortage of people who are ready to donate their organs (Veazey 98). Further, it’s estimated that between 10-20% of the patients die as they look for people to donate the organs for them (Lackner 476). To overcome the challenge, many of the medical researchers are now engaged in establishing if some animals can donate some of the organs. Research has shown that the pig is one such suitable donator of the heart. This is because the pig heart is said to be the same size as the human one and it functions almost the same way as that of the human being. However, before the big heart is transplanted it has to undergo some tests to establish its reliability and effectiveness. However, tests on rodents cannot be conducted since they have quite different immune systems from those of human beings. Humans and Old-World mates as well as the great apes are some of the animals that have been found to have certain types of antibodies that are not compatible to pig organs and therefore some tests have to be done before transplant of the pig heart. To show how important animal-human transplant is, it has been found that those primates that have been donated with the pig heart have managed to survive for between three to four years (Tropini 78). 5.0 Conclusion and recommendations Animal testing in this era of many diseases is very necessary. This is because it plays a very major role in improving the quality of many people especially those that infected by life threatening diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, malaria and tuberculosis (Eran 110). In the process of developing different cures for different infections, it has been established that it is always important to do thorough testing on the new drugs to ensure that they are safe and effective to treat various diseases. Further, the process of transplanting has also given a lot of hope to many people whose important organs such as the heart, the lung and the liver have been infected and cannot function any more and that need replacement. However, as the medical researchers embark on working on drugs to treat various diseases, there is need to take due regard to the lives of those animals that are involved. This is not only to adhere to the legal requirement but also to ensure that such animals as chimpanzees, pigs and other rodents that are important in pharmaceutical research are not extinct because of the unplanned exploitation. Works Cited Bagb, Veasey. 'Chronic Binge Ethanol Consumption Accelerates Progression of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Disease' Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental research, 2006, Vol. 30 Issue 10, 56-87. Eran, Ahajak. 'Testing antiretroviral drug efficacy in conventional mice infected with chimeric HIV-1', AIDS, 2007, Vol. 21 No. 8, 105-138. Europa. Public Health: DG health and consumer protection, 6th May 2012, http://ec.europa.eu/health/opinions/en/non-human-primates/l-3/2-research-safety- testing.htm#4p0 Lackner, Regan. 'Current concepts in AIDS pathogenesis: insights from the SIV/macaque model', Annual Review of Medicine, 2007, 58:461-76. Remfry, Singer. Ethical aspects of animal experimentation, 3rd (ed.), Laboratory Animals: An Introduction for New Experimenters. John Wiley and Sons, 2003. Speaking of research, Medical benefits of animal testing, 6th May 2012, http://speakingofresearch.com/facts/medical-benefits/ Tropini, Gilak. The shaking palsy: a review of Parkinson’s Disease. The Science Creative Quarterly, 16 January 2007, http://www.scq.ubc.ca/?p=632, accessed 8 February 2007). Veazey Roghan 'Gastrointestinal tract as a major site of CD4+ cell depletion and viral replication in SIV infection', Science, 2008, Vol.280; 427-431. Read More