Does animal research benefit humans?

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7438.0-e

BMJ 2004;328 (28 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7438.0-e

Does animal research benefit humans?

Animal studies are often of poor quality, and their contributionto clinical medicine requires rigorous evaluation. Pound andcolleagues analysed 25 systematic reviews of animal studiesand found only six investigating how animal research had informedclinical research. The methodological quality of the studieswas poor, some were run simultaneously with clinical trials,and in some cases negative findings from animal trials did notprevent subsequent clinical trials. Systematic reviews of animalstudies can provide important insights into the validity andvalue of animal research, say the authors, and should precedeclinical trials.