Medical Advances Through Animal Experimentation
Virtually every major medical breakthrough of the 20th century resulted from animal experimentation. Many more therapies are expected to be discovered in the future. Americans for Medical Progress continues to work to ensure that scientists retain the resources and freedom necessary to carry out their research.
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Before the 1900s
Treatment for Smallpox
One of the most feared diseases in the world, estimated to have caused 2 million deaths.
Experimental animal species: cows
Treatment for Rabies
A fatal disease characterized by convulsions and death; afflicts wild and domestic animals and may be transmitted to humans.
Experimental animal species: dogs, rabbits
Treatment for Anthrax
A disease characterized by depression, spasms, respiratory or cardiac distress, convulsions, and death following fever. Devastating epidemics were recorded before the 20th century.
Experimental animal species: sheep
1900s
Cardiac Catheterization Techniques
A method in which physicians insert a flexible tube into the arteries or veins of the heart to measure blood flow and blood pressure and to directly administer drugs into the heart for congenital heart disease and coronary artery stenosis.
Experimental animal species: dogs, rabbits
Treatment for Rickets
Vitamin D deficiency causes impaired bone development in infants and children.
Experimental animal species: dogs
1920s
Controls diabetes mellitus, a chronic pancreatic disease characterized by inability to utilize carbohydrates, excessive sugar in the blood and urine, excessive thirst, hunger, urination, weakness, and emaciation; it may lead to blindness or death. Experimental animal species: dogs
1930s
Development of Modern Anesthesia
Makes possible artificial loss of consciousness or localized/general insensitivity to pain.
Experimental animal species: dogs
Prevention of Tetanus
Also called lockjaw. An acute infectious disease of humans and animals characterized by painful muscle spasms and convulsions.
Experimental animal species: horses
Development of Anticoagulants
Drugs that inhibit the action of blood clotting factors. Excess clotting factors may cause thrombosis, phlebitis, embolism, and death.
Experimental animal species: cats
1940s
Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis
A disease in which connective tissues become inflamed; although the cause is unknown, medications can relieve pain and control inflammation.
Experimental animal species: rabbits, monkeys
Discovery of the Rh Factor
The Rh antigen in red blood cells was identified, marking a breakthrough in pregnancy immunology.
Experimental animal species: rhesus monkeys
Prevention of Diphtheria
A contagious disease characterized by membrane formation in the throat and airways, causing breathing difficulties, high fever, weakness, and often death.
Experimental animal species: horses
Antibiotics
The discovery of penicillin and other broad-spectrum antibiotics revolutionized the treatment of bacterial infections in humans and animals.
Experimental animal species: rats, mice, rabbits, and others
Treatment for Whooping Cough
One of the most acute childhood infectious diseases; highly contagious and characterized by short, dry coughing; may cause severe complications such as convulsions and brain damage.
Experimental animal species: guinea pigs and rabbits
1950s
Prevention of Polio
A disease ranging from mild infection to extensive paralysis; about 58,000 cases were reported in the United States alone in 1952. Today it has been eradicated in the Western Hemisphere and was expected to be eradicated worldwide by the end of the 20th century.
Experimental animal species: rabbits, monkeys, rodents
Development of Open-Heart Surgery and Cardiac Pacemakers
Revolutionary treatments for patients suffering from severe heart disease.
Experimental animal species: dogs
Development of Cancer Chemotherapy
Produces temporary or permanent remission in certain cancers.
Experimental animal species: monkeys, rabbits, rodents
Discovery of Tranquilizers
Compounds that relieve hyperactivity, anxiety, and tension.
Experimental animal species: rats, rabbits, monkeys
1960s
Development of Lithium Therapy
Prevention of bipolar disorder and recurrent depression.
Experimental animal species: rats and guinea pigs
Prevention of Rubella
A viral infectious disease characterized by mild fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes; may cause severe fetal abnormalities in pregnant women.
Experimental animal species: monkeys
1970s
Prevention of Measles
An acute viral infectious disease once common among children; characterized by fever and skin rash and may be fatal.
Experimental animal species: monkeys
Treatment for Leprosy
A chronic infectious disease characterized by severe paralysis, ulceration, malnutrition, gangrene, and amputation.
Experimental animal species: monkeys, armadillos
Advances in Cardiology
Including measurement of coronary blood flow, myocardial preservation techniques, and coronary bypass surgery.
Experimental animal species: dogs
1980s
Development of Monoclonal Antibodies for Disease Treatment
Marked a milestone in the use of antibodies as diagnostic and therapeutic tools targeting specific diseased cells.
Experimental animal species: mice and rabbits
Advances in Organ Transplantation
Surgical and medical advances, such as anti-rejection drugs, made transplantation of the heart, liver, lungs, and other organs possible.
Experimental animal species: dogs, sheep, cows, pigs
1990s
Laparoscopic Surgical Techniques
Minimally invasive surgery greatly reduced hospital stays. For example, gallbladder patients who once required over a week of hospitalization can now often return home the same day.
Experimental animal species: pigs
Breast Cancer Research
Scientists narrowed the search for the genetic and environmental causes of breast cancer, the leading cause of death among American women aged 35–54.
Experimental animal species: fruit flies, mice, rats
Gene Therapy for Cystic Fibrosis
Clinical trials were conducted as the first step toward treating a disease threatening the lives of 30,000 young people in the United States.
Experimental animal species: mice and monkeys
2000
Sequencing of the Human Genome
The human genetic map followed successful sequencing in two animal species. Comparative genomics emerged from these achievements, helping scientists understand similarities and differences between humans and other species.
Experimental animal species: fruit flies, nematodes, humans
2001
First Molecular Targeted Cancer Drug
Gleevec, approved for leukemia and later gastrointestinal stromal tumors, became a milestone in targeting biochemical abnormalities causing cancer.
Experimental animal species: chickens, fruit flies, mice
Cell Cycle Regulators
The 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three scientists whose discoveries helped explain molecular regulators of the cell cycle.
Experimental animal species: sea urchins and others
Porcine Model of Diabetes
Diabetic pigs became the first reliable model of diabetic heart disease, enabling researchers to test new drugs and study cardiovascular spasms after balloon angioplasty.
Experimental animal species: pigs
2002
Multiple Sclerosis
By targeting two genes involved in multiple sclerosis (MS), scientists identified antibody receptors and growth stimulators that reduce MS-like symptoms.
Experimental animal species: mice
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
The antibiotic minocycline delayed onset and progression of ALS in mice, suggesting possible new treatments for humans.
Experimental animal species: mice