BMJ  2004;328:514-517 (28 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7438.514

Education and debate

Where is the evidence that animal research benefits humans?

¹ Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 2PR, ² Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, ³ Center for Perinatal, Pediatric, and Environmental Epidemiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520 USA, ⁴ London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1B 3DP

Much animal research into potential treatments for humans is wasted because it is poorly conducted and not evaluated through systematic reviews

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Clinicians and the public often consider it axiomatic that animal research has contributed to the treatment of human disease, yet little evidence is available to support this view. Few methods exist for evaluating the clinical relevance or importance of basic animal research, and so its clinical (as distinct from scientific) contribution remains uncertain.¹ Anecdotal evidence or unsupported claims are often used as justification—for example, statements that the need for animal research is "self evident"² or that "Animal experimentation is a valuable research method which has proved itself over time."³ Such statements are an inadequate form of evidence for such a controversial area of research. We argue that systematic reviews of existing and future research are needed.

Assessing animal research

Despite the lack of systematic evidence for its effectiveness, basic animal research in the United Kingdom receives much more funding than clinical research.^{1 4 5} Given this, and because the public accepts animal research only on . . . [Full text of this article]

Systematic reviews of animal research

Calcium channel blockers for stroke
Low level laser therapy for wound healing
Fluid resuscitation for bleeding
Thrombolysis for stroke
-->Stress and coronary heart disease
Endothelin receptor blockade in heart failure

Implications

Conclusion

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Rapid Responses:

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A Plea for Mercy

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Systematic Review of Animal Research

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Re: Animal Research and Human Benefit

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Re: A Plea for Mercy

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