Best practices and techniques that refine the use of animals in
painful and distressing research are currently being developed
and used in many research facilities. Often, however, this
"in-house" knowledge is not published in the technical
literature nor widely disseminated throughout the scientific
community. The Humane Society of the United States'
Pain and
Distress Initiative is committed to promoting the
principles of refinement and best practices by hosting and
disseminating information on special topic workshops. The aim
is not only to further animal welfare and science, but also to
initiate open dialogue with and among scientists on ways of
eliminating pain and distress in laboratory animals. This paper
provides an overview of the presentations given at a workshop
hosted by The HSUS in New Orleans on March 14, 1999 on the
subject of refinement in toxicological methods.
The Refinements in Toxicology Testing workshop aimed
to identify and produce guidelines for the consistent use of
humane endpoints (this was only one of several aims; others
include other types of refinements—e.g., dosing guidelines,
telemetry, and Xenogen's imaging technique). The broad
application of such refinements will serve to reduce and/or
eliminate the pain and distress that animals might experience
during experimental procedures.
The workshop presentations focused on four areas of
refinements in toxicology testing: (1) empirical data to
determine optimal dosing volume, (2) the frequency and routes
of administration for common toxicological procedures; (3) the
adverse effects of toxic chemicals, and ways to limit suffering
(e.g., identifying early indicators to set humane endpoints),
and (4) behavioral/clinical assessment prior to distress and/or
decline to a moribund condition that may indicate timing for
implementation of humane endpoints. This workshop on refinement
and humane endpoints in toxicological testing sought to assess
current knowledge and to summarize future areas of
research.
For more information about this workshop, click on the links
below.
