Resolving Animal Distress and Pain: Principles and Examples of Good Practice in Various Fields of Research (original) (raw)

Pain and distress are central topics in legislation, regulations, and standards regarding the use of animals in research. However, in practice, pain has received greatly increased attention in recent years, while attention to distress has lagged far behind, especially for distress that is not induced by pain. A contributing factor is that there is less information readily available on distress, including practical information on its recognition, assessment and alleviation. Conlee discusses ways in which the pain and distress associated with polyclonal antibody production can be minimized. Key issues include the choice of adjuvant, adjuvant volume, and injection sites, as well as the use of booster injections. This case study offers a good example of how seemingly minor refinements can greatly reduce pain and distress associated with commonly used procedures. Gluck provides information on how to address complex issues associated with animal research on psychopathology, using anxiety models as his frame of reference. Psychopathology research on animals can often induce adverse states associated with distress, such as anxiety, fear or depression. Like research on pain, the challenge becomes how to mitigate the impact of effects one may be seeking to induce, maintain, and study. This poses a clear challenge to those who must review or carry out psychological research, or care for the animals in such studies. Gluck poses probing questions that should be asked during development and review of these research models. Conlee, Stephens, and Rowan summarize a workshop held on the neglected field of refinement in toxicity testing. Production of guidelines regarding humane endpoints in toxicity testing (including for both acute and chronic testing) was a main goal of the workshop. Experts provide information on how to monitor animals used in toxicity testing for pain and distress, such as use of telemetry, clinical signs, and gene expression, as well as the use of postmortem pathology in order to determine humane endpoints for future study. Specific aspects of toxicity testing are also addressed, such as dosing volume and routes and frequency of administration. Not only is current knowledge assessed, but future areas of research are identified as well. Finally, Appendix A provides useful references in terms of addressing pain and distress caused by certain areas of research as well as common procedures.