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Source of information in heart research 1978 and 1988
1Department of Surgery, University of Bergen, Haukeland Hospital, Norway.
Insights
Regulatory changes did not alter the proportion of patient or animal studies in heart research. However, shifts occurred in specific animal models, with increased use of rats and pigs, though dogs remain prevalent.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular research
- Medical science regulation
Background:
- Regulatory provisions introduced over the last decade may impact experimental medical science.
- Heart research is a major field potentially affected by these regulations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the impact of regulatory changes on the sources of information in heart research.
- To assess trends in study types (patient, animal, cell culture) in heart research abstracts over a decade.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of 3579 abstracts from the American Heart Association's 1978 and 1988 Scientific Sessions.
- Categorization of abstracts based on information source: patient studies, animal studies, cell culture, and in vitro laboratory studies.
Main Results:
- No overall change in the proportion of patient (45%) or animal (30%) studies between 1978 and 1988.
- Circulatory physiology subset, reliant on animal experimentation, did not decline.
- Cell culture studies increased, replacing in vitro studies, but not animal experimentation.
- Use of dogs and cats decreased relative to rats, rabbits, ferrets, and pigs due to regulations.
- Absolute number of dog studies doubled, with dogs remaining the most used experimental model.
Conclusions:
- Regulatory provisions have not significantly altered the overall landscape of patient versus animal study proportions in heart research.
- Shifts in specific animal model usage reflect regulatory influences and the availability of alternatives.
- Despite regulatory pressures, dogs continue to be a primary experimental model in cardiovascular research.
Abstract:
Several regulatory provisions have been introduced during the last decade that might interfere with the conduct of experimental medical science. In order to study their impact on the source of information within one major field, heart research, a total of 3579 abstracts from the 1978 and 1988 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association were analysed with respect to their source of information. There was no change in overall fractions of classical patient studies (45%) or experimental animal studies (30%) for the 2 years although regulations have been introduced in both areas. There was no evidence that the volume of circulatory physiology, a subset that extensively utilizes animal experimentation, declined relative to other subsets of the composite information base. The fraction of cell culture studies clearly rose over the period at the expense of in vitro laboratory studies but not as replacement for animal experimentation. Particularly tight regulations on experiments with selected species apparently explains why dogs and cats are less frequently used relative to rats, rabbits, ferrets and pigs which represent the alternatives. Nevertheless, the absolute number of dog studies doubled over the 10-year period and this species still remains the most widely used experimental model in heart research. The study does not reveal directly what is actually performed within the research community but rather identifies the source of information for those studies that are considered to bring about pertinent new information in modern heart research.