Nexus - 0214 - New Times Magazine-pages

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standard LD50 tests consist of forcing massive amounts of the test headline in The New York Times revealed: "Physical and Mental substance down the throats of a large number of animals to discover Disabilities in Newborns Doubled in 25 Years", Furthermore, it has at what dosage-level about 50 per cent of them will die. Even if the recently been uncovered that every year more thana Iquarter of a substance is not poisonoo.s to the animal, it will cause damaging million babies (l in 12) are born with birth defec.ls in the United effects by overpowering the animal's ability to cope wtth the sheer States.'" quantities.29 Most1toxicologists and clinicians agree that these tests are s,cien Criticisms From Within tifical1y indefensible. Professor Zbinden writes: "For the recogni Because animal testing gives false and misleading data on, the tion of the symptomatology of acute poisoning in man, and for the 'safety' and 'efficacy' of dangerous drug sllbstances, many toxicolo determination of the human lethal dose, the LD50 in animals is of gists and clinicians have expressed much criticism. To quore some very little value."" D. Lorke, from the Institute of Toxicology, of them: Bayer AG, Germany, states that "even if the LD50 could be mea sured exactly and reproducibly, ,the knowledge of its precise numer Even when a dru~ has been subjected to a complete and adeical value would barely be of practical importance, because an quate pharmacologiC investigation on several species of animals extrapolation from the experimental animals to man is hardly possi and found to be relatively non-toxic, it lis frequently found that , ble."" such a drug may show unexpected toxic reactions in diseased Despite the fact that lhe these tests have no scientific validity, human beings. This has been kn'own al'most since the birth of they are 'Used as a crude index of acute toxicity, demanded by gov scientific pharmacology, J7 ernment regulations. According to one of Botain's largest contract (Dr E. Marshall, 1932, Baltimore.) laboratories, Huntingd?n Research Centre, ..ApP!oximately 90 per cent of LD50 tests whIch are performed by Ibis Contract Research ...most experts considered the modern toxicological ro'Uti.ne Centre, and probably Iby others also, are purely to obtain a value for procedure a wasteful. endeavour in which scientific inventive various legislative needs."n ne'ss and common sense have been replaced by a thoughtless completion of standard protocols," Fraudulent Teratogenic Tests (Professor G. Zbinden, World Health Organisation toxicologist.) Supposedly to safeguard pregnant women from the exposure of Normally, animal experiments not only fail to contribute to the pote~tially lteratogenic. drugs, these sU,bstanees are rested on various safety of medications, but they even have the oppo'site effect." SpecIes of pregnant artunals before bemg marketed. However, these (Professor Kurt Fickentscher, 1980, of the ~~~r~r;h~e ~~;~f~sin bhi~a:~k~s T~~ ~j:~':,!,,,,,!.,,,~;;;'~2~;:&'!'~'~:;c~-;:;~~'~'::'~:;:~'8:·~;"~'~~:c;.~: •.~.~~.$~;~' ~~;l'~'''''~'':'~';~~"':~:;'''~:{Y~.;;,,~:.;~.::,~, ;~;"~I< Pharmacological Institute of the University of Bonn, Germany.) Cruel Deception (1988): In Rregn~nt animals, differen~ in Ithe~!.,:~\.: ..eV~.e.·"<:"·:::".::::::.-::·:·ea.,:: ..·':'.r~;in.:.~.:"'o,;,'.e.. '.;:.t1ian.':~:a.··:~.V~ Animal Testing G.ives Hi~ts, l~i.cati~n~l p~yslolo,glcal structure, function and JI..'%.':'.~i;F:~$i,,::,.tr;."?Y.';i;j~>:liiV~:,L""L.:;'';.::;: .,:"";,::,~.~: In s~rt of,anlffialres~mg, vlvlsectIOmsts blochemlstrx of the pla.centa aggra,vate :l'quarter~;()f.ai:mUIi()n'DabiesZ sar "We do." t expect fJ?al a~swer.s ~m ~~~r~~i~~I, ~ii~e,rb~~~~ I;~d:~~~~t~~~ ~;1)l.1:'~i.h.'.~"r2" a.:.;r.;~>.b.. .. '.(j.~.·.':fi.·..;;W.>~~i ..~lfi~,~.f.~ ~~~,alw~i~~~~~~~~:~~~u:~ ~:~~~~di~a~ ;~i;~bi~~~~~~fo~Sni~~I:bl:~? ;~~i~G:,d.~!.e~i~lin~th-~:tfn.it~a~ll ~=~~: dP:f~~~; ~~o Ic:r~~~;l~~er make .. . ~jj}W~~¥:t~~*'~t;~MfS~'t;':a';"'t··"e;':"'s·:>it~W~\l@@i.J~:'!M@But";"hat'san, indication? A~ appr?xl- Th~ meffectIveness of the teratogenIc ~¥%i~~~~,y;~t ... '~h f~N~!';WM'h~}'f:~l:'fj mate Information, merely orientatlvE;. tests IS deJ.1lonstrated bb the f~ct 'th!lt the 3M;\i~t~~f'~.-;:~BMf~,~tt~;~i:m;;;:f.:!~t:;~W%jW;V;f'4 And ,as the compas~ card ~hows,. an .on ~~I~o~~~~~~~~~S~~~gia~~I~d~~:~ef~~ ~~1¥:IT~~~'1~~~iil~~~1'[:~,li~,~1l,%~'~;[::1i,if1~tirf ~ft~hi~h c~h~~I~t~~/hoen;~g~~ ~r:~o~f morning sick;pess that caused over 10,000 __ . the many ,wrong directions. And ap ani- grotesque birth deformities) proved very difficult to duplicate on ,.., mal exp~nment C?n!y very rarely FJ?lnts Ito apimals, despite being tested on a large range of species. Wri~ng in ,the nght direction, .and when It does, It IS due to <:omCl~ence, his book, Drugs as TeraJogeflS, J. L. Schardein comments: an~ at any rate ve~lfiable only ~ft~r the fa~. Experimenting on animals to do medical research IS like plaYing roulette." In approximately 10 strains of rats, 115 strains of mice, 11 How Should Drugs Be Tested?breeds of rabbit, two breeds of ,dogs, three strains of hamsters, eight species of primates and in other such varied species as Vivisectionists would have the public believe that animal testing cats, armadillos, guinea pigs, swine and ferrets in wh'ich thalido is all essential part of drug testing and evaluation, and that these mide has been tested, teratogenic effects have been induced tests cannot be dispensed with. This is also nonsense, as true scien only occasionally." tific methods that are accurate and reliable are available and in cur rent use. Further, medical historian, Hans Ruesch points out in his book, Drug testing and eValuation should include: the use of human tis Slaughter ofthe !fIlU)cenJ (1991): sues, cells and organs (in vitro cultures);" chromatography and mass spectrometry (which separate drug substances at their molecular level to identify their properties);" quantum pharmacology (using Only when the white New Zealand rabbit was tested, a few quantJJm mechanics to understand the molecular structure of che.l)'limalformed rabbit b;ibjes were obtained, and subsequently also cals);" properly carried-out human clinical trials;" and thorough some malformed monkeys-after years of tests [where reporting of drug side-effects by po$t-market surveillance." The researchers were constant'[y increasing the doses that we_re force-fed], hundreds of different strains and millions of animals Ames test used in conjunction WIth in vitro tests is very effective in used. But researchers immediately pointed out that malforma determining teratogenic and carcinogenic (cancer-causing) proper tions, like'cancer, could be obtained by administration of practi ties of substances." cally a,ny substance in high concentration, including sugar and salt, which will eventually upset the organism, causing trouble." Why Do Drug Companies Use Animal Testsl Although the previously methods have a demonstrated proven Birth Deformities on the Increase worth, drug companies still insist on \Ising misleading animal tests, As a result of the thalidomide tragedy, there has been a massive because they argue that government regulations demand them. But increase in the use of test animals but this has failed to prevent fur why would they? ther d'eformities, On the contrary, the malformations have Bearing in mind the drug companies' criminal reputation in fraqd increased, and more than twenty years later, on 19 July 1983, a ulent drug testing and other illegal activities, with the collaboration of corrupt government and medical officials (aJ; demou,S-'Dlted by JUNE-JULY1993 NEXUS·25