Lab animals 1 Flashcards
what are most lab animals used for?
- studies relating to essential structures and functions
- development of products
- medical studies
- education and training
- regulatory testing
what animals are used?
- mice
- fish
- cattle
- brids, rats, etc…
difference with lab animal vs other vet med
- Specific pathogen-free animals – infectious agents
very rarely cause of health issues - Regulated environment and Multiple stakeholders
- Purpose – answer scientific questions, or use in
teaching – compared to companionship or
production - Health questions and treatments – impact includes
interference with research - Cost vs Benefit analysis – Welfare assessment of
animals
how do we avoid lab animals getting exposed to other pathogens?
- Most pathogenic agents have been
eradicated from the field through: - Sanitation of environment
- Rederivation (C-section, fostering)
animal wellness conversational issues in lab med
- Challenge of meeting behavioural needs in convenient enclosures
- Impact of research protocols inducing disease, or conditions for study, genetic manipulation
- Ethical use of animals
veterinarians in animal research are employed by who?
- University/government/hospital - clinical
veterinarian, administration, pathologist, specialist,
educator - Private sector - as above + toxicologist, discovery
- Biomedical researcher
- Consultant (enrichment, welfare, model
development, etc)
lab animal veterinarian roles and responsibilities
- screening of protocols and advising researchers:
> anesthetic, analgesic, antiseptic surgical methods, routes / volumes for drug admin
<><> - training researchers and staff > handling, surgery, anesthesia, observation of procedures
<><> - clinical rounds > examine, diagnose, and provide treatment plans
how to lab animal vets train research personel? who are these personnel?
- roles of lab staff > admin of substances, anesthesia, surgery
- background of lab staff > undergrad, grad students, research associates, vets, MDs, etc.
> training comprised of online materials, quizzes, hands-on modules, assessment
Laws and Regulations for lab animal vets
- Criminal Code and Cruelty to Animals Act (Federal)
- Animals for Research Act – Ontario (Provincial) > minimal standards of care for vertebrates, also inspections and reviews (OMAFRA)
federal guidelines for use of experimental animals
- what document? how does it work?
CCAC – Canadian Council on Animal Care
- voluntary?
* Constant revisions of guidelines
* Peer review system of oversight
* CCAC inspection every 5-6 years
Local Oversight – ACC
- what is this? what they do?
Animal Care Committee
* Group of individuals appointed by an
institutional officer that provide
oversight for animal use in an
institution
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Required members
* Institutional scientist
* Veterinarian
* Community member
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Additional Members
* Administration
* Institutional non-animal user
* Health and Safety
* Statistician
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Activities
* Animal care and use programs
* Protocol review (Animal Use Protocol,
AUP)
* Facilities
* Ensure scientific merit review
* Animal user training
* Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
programs
* Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
* Provision of adequate veterinary care
* Compliance
* Documentation
stakeholders of lab animals
- Clients
- Institutional property
- Public funding, ethical treatment
- community members
public opinion on lab animals and use
- is welfare important?
- should there be oversight by an independent body?
- public believes welfare is important and there be be oversight
what does the public think about use of animals for:
- medical research
- training / teaching
- agricultural studies
- understanding functions of tissues and organs
- for all of these, most people find acceptable or somewhat acceptable
> most support for use in teaching (eg. of veterinarians)
Scientific and Pedagogical Merit of animal use - what are our standards?
- All studies must have
scientific merit based
on peer review - Review by funding
agencies often
accepted (NSERC, CIHR) - Alternative methods
must be in place for
funding from non-peer
reviewed sources - Teaching protocols
must have pedagogical
merit - More difficult because
fewer experts in
pedagogy related to
animal training - Includes animal user
training at institutions
Animal Use Protocol
- what is this? who approves it?
- Describes the animal use
proposed by a researcher - Must be approved by the
ACC
<><><><> - Research objectives and benefits in
lay terms - Rationale for use of animals
- Personnel and
qualifications/training - Funding and peer review
- Category of invasiveness
- Detailed procedures involving
animals - Consideration of the 3Rs
- Humane endpoints
- Safeguards for the use of
hazardous agents - Method of euthanasia (acceptable,
conditional)
what are ‘animal models’? what is the ideal?
- Definition: Form of imitation in which
normal biology/behaviour can be studied
or in which spontaneous/induced disease
processes can be explored
<><><><> - Ideal Animal Model:
- similarity to process being mimicked
- ease of handling,
- rapid reproduction,
- economy of maintenance,
- ability to sample,
- defined genetic composition,
- defined disease status
spontaneous vs induced animal models
spontaneous - epilepsy, colitis, neoplasia… hard to control when they happen. less common.
induced - genetics, surgical, chemical… more common.
humane endpoints for lab animals
- death should not be an endpoint
- develop humane endpoints that reliably lead to death
‘- prefer stage 1 as opposed to pre-moribund mouse - maximum tolerated dose (MTD) replacing LD50 (lethal dose) > dose at which there are negative clinical signs, but not death (animals don’t have to suffer in the same way to determine lethality)
Humane Intervention Points
- what is this?
- The term ‘humane intervention point’ is used to
describe a time at which clinical signs (physiology,
physical appearance, or behaviour) indicate that an
intervention is required to relieve pain or distress,
but it is not necessarily euthanasia. - Requires monitoring and treatment plans
monitoring sheets and scoring tell us what?
- describe the disease we are investigating but as well as health and welfare parameters, and humane interventions
> show us when to watch more closely for interventions…
Authority to treat for lab animals - what is this? how does it work?
- The ACC must also delegate to the
veterinarian(s) the authority to treat,
remove from a study or euthanize, if
necessary, an animal according to the
veterinarian’s professional judgment. - The veterinarian must attempt to contact
the animal user whose animal is in poor
condition before beginning any treatment
that has not previously been agreed upon. - A written report should be sent by the
veterinarian to the animal user and to the
AC
3 rs - what are they? purpose?
3Rs: Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement
<><><><>
The first ethical framework developed to ensure research animal welfare
“….scientific excellence and humane use of laboratory animals are inextricably linked.”
methods of replacement of animals in research
- Organoids– multi-tissue in vitro experiments
- Organ on a chip
- Teaching models
- Non-animal health surveillance
