Animal Models for the Study of Human Disease


Book Description

Animal Models for the Study of Human Disease identifies important animal models and assesses the advantages and disadvantages of each model for the study of human disease. The first section addresses how to locate resources, animal alternatives, animal ethics and related issues, much needed information for researchers across the biological sciences and biomedicine.The next sections of the work offers models for disease-oriented topics, including cardiac and pulmonary diseases, aging, infectious diseases, obesity, diabetes, neurological diseases, joint diseases, visual disorders, cancer, hypertension, genetic diseases, and diseases of abuse. - Organized by disease orientation for ease of searchability - Provides information on locating resources, animal alternatives and animal ethics - Covers a broad range of animal models used in research for human disease




Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders


Book Description

Nervous system diseases and disorders are highly prevalent and substantially contribute to the overall disease burden. Despite significant information provided by the use of animal models in the understanding of the biology of nervous system disorders and the development of therapeutics; limitations have also been identified. Treatment options that are high in efficacy and low in side effects are still lacking for many diseases and, in some cases are nonexistent. A particular problem in drug development is the high rate of attrition in Phase II and III clinical trials. Why do many therapeutics show promise in preclinical animal models but then fail to elicit predicted effects when tested in humans? On March 28 and 29, 2012, the Institute of Medicine Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders convened the workshop "Improving Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders" to discuss potential opportunities for maximizing the translation of new therapies from animal models to clinical practice. The primary focus of the workshop was to examine mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of translational neuroscience research through discussions about how and when to use animal models most effectively and then best approaches for the interpretation of the data collected. Specifically, the workshop objectives were to: discuss key issues that contribute to poor translation of animal models in nervous system disorders, examine case studies that highlight successes and failures in the development and application of animal models, consider strategies to increase the scientific rigor of preclinical efficacy testing, explore the benefits and challenges to developing standardized animal and behavioral models. Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: Workshop Summary also identifies methods to facilitate development of corresponding animal and clinical endpoints, indentifies methods that would maximize bidirectional translation between basic and clinical research and determines the next steps that will be critical for improvement of the development and testing of animal models of disorders of the nervous system.




Model Behavior


Book Description

Mice are used as model organisms across a wide range of fields in science today—but it is far from obvious how studying a mouse in a maze can help us understand human problems like alcoholism or anxiety. How do scientists convince funders, fellow scientists, the general public, and even themselves that animal experiments are a good way of producing knowledge about the genetics of human behavior? In Model Behavior, Nicole C. Nelson takes us inside an animal behavior genetics laboratory to examine how scientists create and manage the foundational knowledge of their field. Behavior genetics is a particularly challenging field for making a clear-cut case that mouse experiments work, because researchers believe that both the phenomena they are studying and the animal models they are using are complex. These assumptions of complexity change the nature of what laboratory work produces. Whereas historical and ethnographic studies traditionally portray the laboratory as a place where scientists control, simplify, and stabilize nature in the service of producing durable facts, the laboratory that emerges from Nelson’s extensive interviews and fieldwork is a place where stable findings are always just out of reach. The ongoing work of managing precarious experimental systems means that researchers learn as much—if not more—about the impact of the environment on behavior as they do about genetics. Model Behavior offers a compelling portrait of life in a twenty-first-century laboratory, where partial, provisional answers to complex scientific questions are increasingly the norm.




Overcoming Challenges to Develop Countermeasures Against Aerosolized Bioterrorism Agents


Book Description

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) gives the highest priority to developing countermeasures against bioterrorism agents that are highly infective when dispersed in aerosol form. Developing drugs to prevent or treat illnesses caused by bioterrorism agents requires testing their effectiveness in animals since human clinical trials would be unethical. At the request of NIAID, the National Academies conducted a study to examine how such testing could be improved. Overcoming Challenges to Develop Countermeasures Against Aerosolized Bioterrorism Agents provides recommendations to researchers on selecting the kinds of animal models, aerosol generators, and bioterrorism agent doses that would produce conditions that most closely mimic the disease process in humans. It also urges researchers to fully document experimental parameters in the literature so that studies can be reproduced and compared. The book recommends that all unclassified data on bioterrorism agent studies-including unclassified, unpublished data from U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID)-be published in the open literature. The book also calls on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to improve the process by which bioterrorism countermeasures are approved based on the results of animal studies.




Handbook of Animal Models of Infection


Book Description

Handbook of Animal Models of Infection is a complete revision of a three-volume text that was published in 1986. It incorporates the major advances in the field during the past decade, in particular those concerning molecular biological procedures and new models that have been developed. It focuses on both methods and techniques, which makes it an essential and comprehensive reference as well as a benchtop manual. The Handbook will help investigators save time and effort in formulating an approach to test a new potential therapeutic agent or combination of agents for in vivo efficacy and to position the therapy for specific infections where it may have therapeutic promise. The book is divided into five sections; the first covering the general methodologies, followed by sections describing experimental bacterial, mycotic, parasitic, and viral infections. - Discusses ethical and safety aspects in an introductory background section - Covers principles of animal care and current techniques appropriate for the use of animal models of infection - Details a wide range of animals including rodents, rabbits, cats, and primates - Provides hands-on descriptions of how to set up the model - Discusses the major advantages and limitations of each model - Ensures full coverage of bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic infections




Animal Models in Eye Research


Book Description

The eye is a complex sensory organ, which enables visual perception of the world. Thus the eye has several tissues that do different tasks. One of the most basic aspects of eye function is the sensitivity of cells to light and its transduction though the optic nerve to the brain. Different organisms use different ways to achieve these tasks. In this sense, eye function becomes a very important evolutionary aspect as well. This book presents the different animal models that are commonly used for eye research and their uniqueness in evaluating different aspects of eye development, evolution, physiology and disease. - Presents information on the major animal models used in eye research including invertebrates and vertebrates - Provides researchers with information needed to choose between model organisms - Includes an introductory chapter on the different types of eyes, stressing possible common molecular machinery




Animal Models in Cancer Drug Discovery


Book Description

Animal Models in Cancer Drug Discovery brings forward the most cutting-edge developments in tumor model systems for translational cancer research. The reader can find under this one volume virtually all types of existing and emerging tumor models in use by the research community. This book provides a deeper insight on how these newer models could de-risk modern drug discovery. Areas covered include up to date information on latest organoid derived models and newer genetic models. Additionally, the book discusses humanized animal tumor models for cancer immunotherapy and how they leverage personalized therapies. The chapter on larger animal, canine models and their use in and their use in pre-investigational new drug (pre-IND) development makes the volume unique. Unlike before, the incorporation of several simplified protocols, breeding methodologies, handling and assessment procedures to study drug intervention makes this book a must read. Animal Models in Cancer Drug Discovery is a valuable resource for basic and translational cancer researchers, drug discovery researchers, contract research organizations, and knowledge seekers at all levels in the biomedical field.




Animal Models in Toxicology


Book Description

Reflecting more than a decade's worth of changes, Animal Models in Toxicology, Second Edition is a practical guide to the common statistical problems encountered in toxicology and the methodologies that are available to solve them. The book presents a historical review of the use of animal models and an overview of broad considerations of me




Cellular and Animal Models in Human Genomics Research


Book Description

Cellular and Animal Models in Human Genomics Research provides an indispensable resource for applying comparative genomics in the annotation of disease-gene associated variants that are identified by human genomic sequencing. The book presents a thorough overview of effective protocols for the use of cellular and animal modeling methods to turn lists of plausible genes into causative biomarkers. With chapters written by international experts, the book first addresses the fundamental aspects of using cellular and animal models in genetic and genomic studies, including in-depth examples of specific models and their utility, i.e., yeast, worms, flies, fish, mice and large animals. Protocols for properly conducting model studies, genomic technology, modeling candidate genes vs. genetic variants, integrative modeling, utilizing induced pluripotent stem cells, and employing CRISPR-Cas9 are also discussed in-depth. - Provides a thorough, accessible resource that helps researchers and students employ cellular and animal models in their own genetic and genomic studies - Offers guidance on how to effectively interpret the results and significance of genetic and genomic model studies for human health - Features chapters from international experts in the use of specific cellular and animal models, including yeast, worms, flies, fish, mice, and large animals, among other organisms




Animal Models in Diabetes Research


Book Description

In recent years, human studies have made enormous contributions towards an understanding of the genetic basis of diabetes mellitus; however, most of the experimentation needed for the invention and testing of novel therapeutic approaches cannot be performed in humans. Thus, there is no alternative to appropriate animal models. In Animal Models in Diabetes Research, expert researchers explore the current status of the most important models and procedures in order to provide a timely resource in experimental diabetology. The first half of the volume serves as a comprehensive overview on our current knowledge of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of diabetes in animal models through a series of reviews in model strains. The book then continues with vital, established protocols that are employed in the characterization and study of animal models of diabetes. As a volume in the highly successful Methods in Molecular BiologyTM series, this work contains the type of detailed description and key implementation advice necessary to achieve successful results. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Animal Models in Diabetes Research delivers essential content that will be an important resource to advance diabetes research in the years to come.