Journal of pharmacological and toxicological methods
-
There is a general sentiment in the nonclinical safety assessment literature and the proponents of the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH), that the "Modified Irwin" and the Functional Observation Battery are distinct and unique assays for the nonclinical assessment of the central nervous system (CNS). We identify and defend the position that the Irwin screen was developed as an FOB and both terms refer to a single, unitary functional assay. In giving credit to one prominent contributor to any one significant discipline of science for a specific assay, orientation, or theory may have an exclusionary influence on the merits of other prominent contributors within the same research arena. ⋯ In 1968, Samuel Irwin established an operational method of analysis used for measuring drug effects in purpose bred laboratory animals. We present and defend the view that the behavioral screening assay developed by Irwin is, for all intents and purposes, a functional observational battery (FOB). We take the position that in standardizing nomenclature without "surnames" the FOB is simply the contemporary name for the data collection system in use under the harmonized safety pharmacology guidelines.
-
J Pharmacol Toxicol Methods · Jan 2013
ReviewReducing suffering in animal models and procedures involving seizures, convulsions and epilepsy.
This report is based on discussions and submissions from an expert working group consisting of veterinarians, animal care staff and scientists with expert knowledge relevant to the field and aims to facilitate the implementation of the Three Rs (replacement, reduction and refinement) in the use of animal models or procedures involving seizures, convulsions and epilepsy. Each of these conditions will be considered, the specific welfare issues discussed, and practical measures to reduce animal use and suffering suggested. The emphasis is on refinement since this has the greatest potential for immediate implementation, and some general issues for refinement are summarised to help achieve this, with more detail provided on a range of specific refinements.
-
The venous system contains about 70% of the blood volume, and approximately 75% of the venous volume is in the small veins and venules. Veins play an active role in the control of cardiac output (CO) and blood pressure. ⋯ In vivo methods used for the assessment of venous function in experimental animals and humans are as follows: the mean circulatory filling pressure (MCFP) method for the determination of body venous tone, constant CO reservoir technique for measuring vascular compliance and unstressed volume, plethysmography or blood-pool scintigraphy along with venous occlusion for measuring the volume and compliance of an organ, linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) technique for estimating the diameter of a human dorsal hand vein, intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging technique to monitor the cross-sectional area of a large vein, and ultrasonic crystals to estimate the dimension of an organ. These methods are described and critically evaluated to disclose their validity, merits and limitations.