Animal model
hideAn animal model is a non-human animal that has a disease or injury that is similar to a human condition. These test conditions are often termed as animal models of disease. The use of animal models allows researchers to investigate disease states in ways which would be inaccessible in a human patient, performing procedures on the non-human animal that imply a level of harm that would not be considered ethical to inflict on a human.
In order to serve as a useful model, a modeled disease must be similar in etiology (mechanism of cause) and function to the human equivalent. Animal models are used to learn more about a disease, its diagnosis and its treatment. For instance, behavioral analogues of anxiety or pain in laboratory animals can be used to screen and test new drugs for the treatment of these conditions in humans. A 2000 study found that animal models predicted human toxicity in 71% of cases, with 63% for nonrodents alone and 43% for rodents alone.
Animal models of disease can be spontaneous (naturally occurring in animals), or be induced by physical, chemical or biological means. For example,
The increase in knowledge of the genomes of non-human primates and other mammals that are genetically close to humans is allowing the production of genetically engineered animal tissues, organs and even animal species which express human diseases, providing a more robust model of human diseases in an animal model.
Animal models observed in the sciences of psychology and sociology are often termed animal models of behavior.
In quantitative genetics, the term animal model is used to refer to statistical models in which phenotypic variance is compartmentalised into environmental, genetic and sometimes maternal effects. Such animal models are also known as "mixed models".
For more information about Animal model, read the full article at
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This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with animal model
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Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 25, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Carbon nanotubes are being considered for use in everything from sports equipment to medical applications, but a great deal remains unknown about whether these materials cause respiratory ...
New discovery could help feed millions (w/Video)
May 27, 2009 |
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When scientist Loretta Mayer set out to alleviate diseases associated with menopause, she didn't realize her work could lead to addressing world hunger and feeding hundreds of millions of people.
World first: Japanese scientists create transgenic monkeys
May 27, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (9) |
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In a controversial achievement, Japanese scientists announced on Wednesday they had created the world's first transgenic primates, breeding monkeys with a gene that made the animals' skin glow a fluorescent ...
Master regulator found for regenerating nerve fibers in live animals
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 25, 2009 |
5 / 5 (11) |
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Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report that an enzyme known as Mst3b, previously identified in their lab, is essential for regenerating damaged axons (nerve fibers) in a live animal model, in both the peripheral ...
Why antidepressants don't work for so many
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Oct 23, 2009 |
5 / 5 (24) |
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More than half the people who take antidepressants for depression never get relief. Why? Because the cause of depression has been oversimplified and drugs designed to treat it aim at the wrong target, according to new research ...
Scientists use blood-brain barrier as therapy delivery system
Sep 21, 2009 |
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The blood brain barrier is generally considered an obstacle to delivering therapies from the bloodstream to the brain. However, University of Iowa researchers have discovered a way to turn the blood vessels ...
Rats move toward the food but do not eat
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Sep 08, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (2) |
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Scientists led a rat to the fatty food, but they couldn't make it eat. Using an animal model of binge eating, University of Missouri researchers discovered that deactivating the basolateral amygdala, a brain ...
Researchers restore missing protein in rare genetic brain disorder
Sep 06, 2009 |
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3
UCSF researchers have successfully used protease inhibitors to restore to normal levels a key protein involved in early brain development. Reduced levels of that protein have been shown to cause the rare brain disorder lissencephaly, ...
Researcher regenerates brain tissue in traumatic injuries
Sep 02, 2009 |
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An injectable biomaterial gel may help brain tissue grow at the site of a traumatic brain injury, according to findings by a Clemson University bioengineer.
Scientists identify gene that predicts post-surgical survival from brain metastasis of breast cancer patients
Sep 01, 2009 |
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Researchers at the National Cancer Institute have identified a gene that may play a role in breast cancer metastasis to the brain, according to a report in Molecular Cancer Research, a journal of the Americ ...
How alcohol blunts the ability of hamsters to 'rise and shine'
Sep 01, 2009 |
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Chronic alcohol consumption blunts the biological clock's ability to synchronize daily activities to light, disrupts natural activity patterns and continues to affect the body's clock (circadian rhythm), even days after the ...
Novel polymer could improve protein-based drugs
Aug 19, 2009 |
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A new method for attaching a large protective polymer molecule to a protein appears to improve protein drugs significantly.
Hormones found to affect gene activity
Aug 19, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Intermittent signaling by steroid hormones can affect the way genes are expressed in rodents, according to research by scientists at the University of Bristol and the National Cancer Institute ...
Gene shut-down may offer early warning of chronic leukemia
Aug 05, 2009 |
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A new study shows that certain genes are turned off early, before clinical signs of the disease appear, in the development of chronic leukemia.
Computer-Guided Nanoparticle Therapy Destroys Tumors
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Jun 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (12) |
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Gold nanoshells are among the most promising new nanoscale therapeutics being developed to kill tumors, acting as antennas that turn light energy into heat that cooks cancer to death. Now, a multi-institutional research team ...
