Disease/Experimental Model

Alternative anesthesia of neonatal mice for global rAAV delivery in the brain with non-detectable behavioral interference in adults

Viral-transduced gene expression is the current standard for cell-type-specific labeling and cell tacking in experimental neuroscience. To achieve widespread gene expression, a viral delivery method to neonatal rodents was introduced more than two decades ago. Most of those neonatal viral...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Anesthesia & Sedation, Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Tang, W., Zillmann, U., Sprengel, R. 2020. Alternative anesthesia of neonatal mice for global rAAV delivery in the brain with non-detectable behavioral interference in adults. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 14, 115.

Assessing pain in models of rheumatoid arthritis

A hallmark symptom of rheumatoid arthritis in humans is painful swollen joints. Pain can manifest before any inflammation is noticeable as well as persist long after inflammation has resolved. In rodent models of arthritis, ankle or footpad width is a...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Singleton, S., Nefla, M., Dennison, N. et al. 2020. Assessing pain in models of rheumatoid arthritis. Animal Technology and Welfare 19(2), 149-152.

Comparing distress of mouse models for liver damage

In order to foster animal welfare as well as high quality of research, many countries regulate by law that the severity of animal experiments must be evaluated and considered when performing biomedical research. It is well accepted that multiple parameters...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Tang, G., Seume, N., Häger, C. et al. 2020. Comparing distress of mouse models for liver damage. Scientific Reports 10(1), 19814.

Defining body-weight reduction as a humane endpoint: A critical appraisal

In many animal experiments scientists and local authorities define a body-weight reduction of 20% or more as severe suffering and thereby as a potential parameter for humane endpoint decisions. In this study, we evaluated distinct animal experiments in multiple research...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Humane Endpoint, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Talbot, S. R., Biernot, S., Bleich, A. et al. 2020. Defining body-weight reduction as a humane endpoint: A critical appraisal. Laboratory Animals 54(1), 99–110.

Design of composite measure schemes for comparative severity assessment in animal-based neuroscience research: A case study focussed on rat epilepsy models

Comparative severity assessment of animal models and experimental interventions is of utmost relevance for harm-benefit analysis during ethical evaluation, an animal welfare-based model prioritization as well as the validation of refinement measures. Unfortunately, there is a lack of evidence-based approaches...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: van Dijk, R. M., Koska, I., Bleich, A. et al. 2020. Design of composite measure schemes for comparative severity assessment in animal-based neuroscience research: A case study focussed on rat epilepsy models. PLOS ONE 15(5): e0230141.

Body weight algorithm predicts humane endpoint in an intracranial rat glioma model

Humane endpoint determination is fundamental in animal experimentation. Despite commonly accepted endpoint criteria for intracranial tumour models (20% body weight loss and deteriorated clinical score) some animals still die before being euthanized in current research. We here systematically evaluated other...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Humane EndpointAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Helgers, S., Talbot, S. R., Riedesel, A. K. et al. 2020. Body weight algorithm predicts humane endpoint in an intracranial rat glioma model. Scientific Reports 10, 9020.

Endpoint in ovarian cancer xenograft model predicted by nighttime motion metrics

Despite several therapeutics showing promise in nonclinical studies, survival from ovarian cancer remains poor. New technologies are urgently needed to optimize the translation of nonclinical studies into clinical successes. While most nonclinical settings utilize subjective measures of physiological parameters, which...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Humane EndpointAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Nwagwu, C. D., Defensor, E., Jiang, M. Y. et al. 2020. Endpoint in ovarian cancer xenograft model predicted by nighttime motion metrics. Lab Animal 49(8), 227–232.

Fasting is not required for measuring plasma lipid levels in rabbits

Plasma lipid and glucose levels are important parameters for evaluating the onset and development of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. In clinical and experimental studies of humans or mice, fasting is often required before testing plasma lipid and glucose levels. The...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Wang, R., Liu, R., Li, L. et al. 2020. Fasting is not required for measuring plasma lipid levels in rabbits. Laboratory Animals 54(3), 272–280.

Four- and six-hour urinary albumin excretion is a valuable alternative to 24-h urinary albumin excretion in male db/db mice

In mouse (Mus musculus) models of diabetic nephropathy (DN), one of the most important read-outs is the 24-h urinary albumin excretion (UAE). The 24-h urine collection is usually performed by single housing mice in metabolic cages on wire mesh without...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Disease/Experimental ModelAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Nøgaard, S. A., Sand, F. W., Sørensen, D. B. et al. 2020. Four- and six-hour urinary albumin excretion is a valuable alternative to 24-h urinary albumin excretion in male db/db mice. Animal Welfare 29(2), 143-149.

Humane endpoints in severe irradiation experiments using non-human primates: A retrospective analysis

A retrospective statistical study has been performed in order to identify the biological, clinical and behavioural variables that could potentially predict the survival status of irradiated non-human primates (NHP) and to refine the future use of humane endpoints (HEP). The...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Humane EndpointAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Bertho, J.-M., Ancelet, S., Denais-Laliève, D. et al. 2020. Humane endpoints in severe irradiation experiments using non-human primates: A retrospective analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 46(1).