Essay, Research Paper: Animal Research

Animal Research. Is it Right?
Research on animals is important in understanding diseases and developing ways to
prevent them. The polio vaccine, kidney transplants, and heart surgery techniques have
all been developed with the help of animal research. Through increased efforts by the
scientific community, effective treatments for diabetes, diphtheria, and other diseases
have been developed with animal testing. Through my research I will prove that animal
research is very beneficial to medicine, and with the help of research many diseases can
be and will be cured because of this in the future.
With the help of animal research, smallpox has been wiped out worldwide.
Micro-surgery to reattach hearts, lungs,and other transplants are all possible because of
animal research. Since the turn of the century, animal research has helped increase our
life-span by nearly 28 years. And now,animal research is leading to dramatic progress
against AIDS and Alzheimer’s disease.
Working with animals in research is necessary. Scientists need to test medical treatments
for effectiveness and test new drugs for safety before beginning human testing. Small
animals, usually rats, are used to determine the possible side effects of new drugs. After
animal tests have proven the safety of new drugs, patients asked to participate in further
studies can be assured that they may fare better, and will not do worse than if they were
given standard treatment or no treatment.
New surgical techniques first must be carefully developed and tested in living, breathing,
whole organ systems with pulmonary and circulatory systems much like ours. The
doctors
who perform today’s delicate cardiac, ear, eye, pulmonary and brain surgeries, as well as
doctors in training, must develop the necessary skills before patients’ lives are entrusted
to their care. Neither computer models, cell cultures, nor artificial substances can
simulate flesh, muscle, blood, and organs like the ones in live animals.
There is no alternative to animal research. Living systems are complex. The nervous
system, blood and brain chemistry, and gland secretions are all interrelated. It is
impossible to explore, explain or predict the course of many diseases or the effects of
many treatments without observing and testing the entire living system.
Cell and tissue cultures, often suggested as "alternatives" to using animals, have been
used in medical research for many years. But these are only isolated tests. And isolated
tests will yield only isolated results, which may bear little relation to a whole living
system. Scientists do not yet know enough about living systems or diseases, nor does the
technology exist, to replicate one on a computer. The information required to build a true
computer model in the future will be based on data drawn from today’s animal studies.
Primates represent only about 1/3 of 1 percent of animals in research. But during the last
half century, research using primates has led to major medical breakthroughs, most
notably in the treatment of polio and Rh disease. Vaccines have reduced the cases of
polio in the U.S. from 58,000 to one or two a year at present.
Scientists are learning how the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) works by studying
its non-human primate counterpart, the Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV) in
monkeys. The SIV model is useful in testing drugs for AIDS. In addition, the HIV virus
survives in certain kinds of monkeys and although it does not kill the animals, it can be
removed from them. This may prove useful in testing an AIDS vaccine.
Researchers are studying rhesus macaque monkeys to explore ways to reduce multiple
organ failure following hypotensive shock, a loss of blood pressure due to loss of blood.
Researchers have hypothesized that damage to the organs occur within the first few
minutes after blood flow is reestablished, when a certain kind of white blood cell
attaches to walls of blood vessels and releases toxic substances. The researchers reasoned
that if, just before blood flow is reestablished, a substance that prevents the white blood
cells from attaching to the vessel walls were injected into the blood stream, it might
prevent the release of their toxic contents and avoid multiple organ damage. It is
expected that this new technique will prove effective in human patients.
Researchers are studying obesity in monkeys in hopes of finding a way to control body
weight. Scientist are also using monkeys to study Taurine deficiency, which causes vision
problems, and zinc deficiency, which causes growth retardation among infants and
fetuses.
Researchers are currently studying to see whether reduced caloric intake can slow the
rate of aging. This effect has already been observed in lower animals, and if it holds true
in primates, it would be a strong indication that humans might be able to increase their
life spans by eating less.
Primates have the same number and relative size of teeth as humans. Macaque monkeys
have been studied by dental researchers to link a specific bacterium to the growth of
periodontitis, which affects 75 percent of all adults and causes 70 percent of adult tooth
loss. A non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drug, flurbiprofen, has been shown to be
effective in halting the progression of periodontal disease.
Since the 1920s, scientists have studied primates in order to understand their ability to
communicate. They have discovered that chimpanzees and other apes have the ability to
learn and use language. Scientists already have applied their findings toward developing
a special language for severely mentally retarded children, as well as young adults with
little or no linguistic competence, who cannot learn language as normal children do.
People should ensure that an end is not put to progress in animal research. Biomedical
researchers know that an animal in distress is simply not a good research subject.
Researchers are embarked on an effort to alleviate misery, not cause it. And remember, if
we want to defeat the killer diseases that still confront us, such as AIDS and Alzheimer’s,
cancer, heart disease, and many others, the misguided fanatics of the animal-rights
movement must be stopped. Think about it, it could some day be your life or your
children’s.


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