There is no good reason for research labs not to utilize current non-animal testing modalities and develop more. Besides the obvious fact that extrapolation of data to allow for species differences is not needed in alternative testing, it is also faster and cheaper. A drug company in England called Pharmagene already uses exclusively human tissue along with computer technology to study how drugs affect genes and proteins.
In vitro testing occurs in a flask or other controlled environment and uses human cells and tissue culture. Already proven to be a hugely promising area of research, it can be used to make vaccines, antibiotics and stem cells; in developing cancer, AIDS and other drugs; and as a replacement for current animal toxicity studies. In genetic research, in vitro testing has been successfully employed to find clues to the mysteries of inherited diseases like Alzheimer’s, muscular dystrophy, and schizophrenia.
Specific in vitro tests include Eytex (using the jack bean) to measure eye irritancy and Skintex (using pumpkin rind) to measure skin irritancy. The 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity Test is another skin irritancy test. EpiPack tests on cloned human tissue. Neutral Red Bioassay uses cultured human cells to measure toxicity. Testskin uses human skin to test for irritancy. The Ames test is 90% effective in finding animal carcinogens. The Agarose Diffusion Method tests for toxicity of synthetic devices such as heart valves and artificial joints with human cells and agar (derived from seaweed).
Discarded human skin from surgical procedures or donated cadavers is also used to measure chemical toxicity. Human volunteers participate in clinical patch tests to confirm irritancy and allergy potentials.
Another promising area of non-animal research is computer-assisted research/mathematical modeling. Mathematical modeling involves computers simulating parts of the body as math equations. Among many other uses, modeling can pinpoint subtle differences among breast tumors, show the mechanics of human thought and how epilepsy works. Scientists can use computerized three-dimensional molecules to design new drugs. For example, TOPKAT, a computer software program, measures toxicity, mutagenicity (ability to induce mutations), carcinogenicity (ability to cause cancer), and teratogenicity (ability to cause congenital malformations). COMPACT can predict toxicity. ECIS (Electric Cell Substrate Impedance Sensing) studies complex cell behavior. Most US medical students now employ much more cost-effective and humane computer models, patient simulators, CD-ROMs, multimedia, and human cadavers instead of live animals to learn about human physiology, and they can use the models as actual patients to try different treatments and monitor the effects. They also learn how to perform human surgeries by observing actual procedures.
Epidemiology furnishes data on the incidence and prevalence of specific diseases; which genes contribute to specific diseases; and helps determine environmental, lifestyle factors, and preventative measures to take to prevent disease. Many medical discoveries have been made through epidemiology, including the role of vitamin C in scurvy and industrial chemicals in a number of diseases, as well as the relationship between smoking and cancer/heart disease, heart disease and cholesterol, repetitive motion and carpal tunnel syndrome, high blood pressure and stroke/heart disease, the transmission of AIDS, and more.
Autopsies and pathological studies utilize human cells, tissues and organs from the deceased. Autopsies have historically provided insights into the mechanism of serious diseases and conditions including diabetes, hepatitis, rheumatic fever, congenital heart disease, and appendicitis as well as furnishing a means of studying the mechanics of head injuries. They have been used to diagnose shaken baby syndrome and crib death.
Medical scanning technology includes diagnostic imaging (PET, CAT, MRI) and has isolated abnormalities in the brains of patients with various disorders including schizophrenia.
Through recombinant DNA technology, or inserting new or different genes into existing DNA, undesirable genetic traits have been successfully altered. This modality has the potential to correct birth defects and even cancer susceptibility in utero. It has already resulted in the development of human-derived insulin rather than cow or pig insulin, to which many people become allergic. Other important findings of recombinant DNA technology include vaccines, enzymes, antibody fragments and growth hormones. The use of this alternative decreases cross-species contamination, which is an serious ongoing problem in animal research. Also, the new field of pharmacogenomics can study a patient’s response to drugs before exposure.
Post marketing drug surveillance (PMDS) involves the reporting of any negative or positive side effects after the release of a new medication. Surprisingly, although this alternative would save lives, prevent disasters like the thalidomide birth defects tragedy, and enable researchers to study the effects of drugs on actual humans, it is not legally required and most doctors don’t bother with it.
There are other animal research alternatives, such as using databases from prior testing to avoid redundant tests; utilizing the findings from research in chemistry, math, and physics; observing ill and deceased human patients through clinical observation and research; employing the knowledge gained through specialization of medical care; and prevention of disease in the first place through healthy living.
How can you help put an end to animal testing? Write to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and tell them you don’t want your tax dollars used in animal research. You can also contact the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and National Toxicology Program and ask them to stop requiring animal tests for drugs and to allow companies to use in vitro tests instead. Remember that only pharmaceuticals are legally required to be tested on animals. Cosmetics and household products are not, but many companies are encouraged to do so by the FDA.
