[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 61 (Wednesday, May 17, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E744-E745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RESEARCH! AMERICA'S 1999 AWARD FOR EXCEPTIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS AS 
                VOLUNTEER ADVOCATES FOR MEDICAL RESEARCH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JENNIFER DUNN

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 16, 2000

  Ms. DUNN. Mr. Speaker, on March 28, 2000, I presented Patty Wood and 
the Washington Association for Biomedical Research with the Research! 
America's 1999 Award for Exceptional Contributions as Volunteer 
Advocates for Medical Research.
  Patty has been an energetic advocate, spokesperson, and volunteer for 
the Northwest Kidney Centers and the Washington Association for 
Biomedical Research. As an organ recipient herself, she understands the 
importance of organ donation and the value of biomedical research in 
giving people a second chance. I also want to acknowledge Dr. Joseph 
Eschbach, President of the Washington Association for Biomedical 
Research, and Susan Adler, the Executive Director of the Association, 
for their outstanding commitment in educating the public on the 
benefits of funding biomedical research.
  On April 16-21, 2000, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer featured a five-
part series on the use of animals in biomedical research. Enclosed are 
the first two articles of the series. Reprints of the complete five-
part series can be obtained directly from Susan Adler, Executive 
Director of the Washington Association for Biomedical Research, at the 
following address: 2033 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98121. The 
articles can also be viewed on the Association's website at 
www.wabr.org. I hope that these articles will help educate the public 
on this important issue.

        [From the Seattle P-I.com Opinion, Sun., Apr. 16, 2000]

 Animals and Research Part 1: Unlocking the Secrets of Genetic Disease 
                        Through Animal Research

                        (By Joseph W. Eschbach)

       In my office and at the hospital, I diagnose and treat a 
     myriad of illnesses--some life-threatening, others not so 
     serious. In performing these tasks, I need to keep up with 
     the advances that make it possible to treat these illnesses. 
     I also need to talk with my patients about the medical 
     procedures, surgery and medicines I recommend and/or 
     prescribe and the research that makes them safe and 
     effective.
       A young patient, Bobby, recently came to my office with a 
     fever and complaints of ear pain. The diagnosis--a middle-ear 
     infection--is common, particularly in children, and accounts 
     for many a missed school day. While the infection can usually 
     be cured with an antibiotic, in the future most children will 
     not get this infection because of a recently developed 
     vaccine.
       This vaccine was first shown to be effective and safe in 
     studies involving rats, guinea pigs and chinchillas. I told 
     Bobby's mother that this vaccine, which immunizes infants and 
     children against the organism that causes the infection, will 
     soon be available--in time to protect his baby sister. Not 
     only will this vaccine decrease the incidence of recurring 
     infections, it also will reduce the need for taking 
     antibiotics.
       I tell Mrs. D, who once had serious chest pain, that the 
     device used to open up the blockage in her heart arteries was 
     first tested and perfected in dog studies. During their 
     training, the surgeons who performed her subsequent bypass 
     surgery were able to practice and perfect their surgical 
     skills on dogs, before operating on humans. Growing pressure 
     by animal rights groups has recently caused some medical 
     schools to close their dog laboratories. For these future 
     surgeons, their first introduction to performing complex 
     procedures will be on patients. I am concerned about how this 
     will affect the future of these people.
       Animal models have been the key to unlocking the secrets of 
     many genetic diseases. The genetic makeup of animals and 
     humans is similar, which has allowed scientists to study 
     diseases in animals with genetic defects similar to those in 
     humans.
       One day, Jim came in complaining that he spontaneously fell 
     asleep under the most embarrassing situations: at work, with 
     guests and while watching his favorite football team. A 
     neurological exam confirmed that he had narcolepsy, a disease 
     caused by a defective version of the gene called hypocretin 
     receptor 2.
       Much of what we know about narcolepsy comes from studies on 
     a breed
       These dogs were also used to initially test the 
     effectiveness of certain drug therapies, including the one I 
     prescribed to Jim. This drug alone is ultimately expected to 
     help the 250,000 Americans with narcolepsy, as well as dogs 
     with the disorder.
       The flu has been a major cause of days lost from work and 
     even death in young and old. Jackie recently came to the 
     office with a fever of 102 degrees and a bad cough; she was 
     feeling horrible. Examination and initial laboratory tests 
     suggested she had the flu and,

[[Page E745]]

     while waiting for confirmation of viral tests, she was 
     prescribed a new ``anti-viral'' antibiotic designed 
     specifically to combat influenza. This drug is the result of 
     years of testing, first in rats and rabbits, and then in 
     humans, and represents a major advance against this illness.
       Sarah has diabetes. The insulin she requires allows her to 
     live a relatively normal life; until recently, the insulin 
     was derived solely from the pancreas glands of pigs and cows. 
     Recent advances in recombinant molecular biology techniques 
     have made human insulin available, as well.
       Insulin-dependent diabetes was uniformly fatal before the 
     1920s when Drs. Frederick G. Banting and Charles H. Best, 
     through experiments in dogs, proved that insulin corrected 
     the disorder. On the horizon, thanks to experiments in 
     several animal species, is the hope that the specific 
     pancreas cells that produce insulin (islet cells) can be 
     transplanted into any diabetic and cure the condition, 
     eliminate the need for insulin shots and eliminate long-term 
     complications.
       There are many other stories I could tell about how my 
     patients have benefited from animal research. The 
     hypertension medication, the ultrasound technology and the 
     organ transplant techniques and immunological methods were 
     all made possible because of experiments using animals.


                 Animals & Research, a five-part series

       Part 1: Unlocking the secrets of genetic disease through 
     animal research
       Part 2: Improving medical treatment for animals
       Part 3: Animals are key to discovering new medicines
       Part 4: The ethics of using animals in research
       Part 5: How research animals live
       Some patients express concern for these animals and ask why 
     they need to be used for research. I reassure them that 
     researchers must comply with strict federal regulations 
     requiring care and use protocols be carefully reviewed by an 
     animal care committee, whose membership must include an 
     experienced scientist, a veterinarian and a member of the 
     general public. Alternatives to animals are used whenever 
     possible (cell and tissue cultures and computer modeling), 
     but these findings ultimately need to be confirmed in a 
     complex intact animal.
       I also try to put the use of research animals into 
     perspective. More than 95 percent of all animals used for 
     research in the United States are laboratory-bred rats and 
     mice. Contrary to popular belief, dogs, cats and primates 
     together account for only about 1 percent of all the animals 
     used in research. Data from October 1997 through September 
     1998 indicate that about 100,000 dogs and cats were used in 
     research in that year, which compares with between 2 million 
     to 7 million unwanted dogs and cats killed annually in the 
     nation's pounds, as reported by the Humane Society of the 
     United States.
       Bobby and his sister; Jackie; Jim; and Sarah, as well as 
     every American alive today, have benefited in some way from 
     animal research. However, many other illnesses still are in 
     need of cures, such as cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's and others. 
     It is the promise of animal research that provides our hopes 
     for having longer, healthier lives.
                                 ______
                                 

        [From the Seattle P-I.Com Opinion, Tues, Apr. 18, 2000]

      Animals and Research, Part 2: Animals Benefit from Research

                         (By Patrick R. Gavin)

       Pullman--For some time now we've been caring for ``Hope'' 
     at the Washington, State University College of Veterinary 
     Medicine teaching hospital. She's a mixed-breed dog whose 
     owner shot her in the head in February and left her for dead.
       Before she ever came to WSU, a good Samaritan in Montana 
     found her at a public fishing access and got her to emergency 
     care. Anesthetics, analgesics, antibiotics, radiographs, 
     sutures, stomach tubes, dressings, bandages, liquefied food, 
     intravenous lines and solutions were employed by competent 
     veterinary care to keep her alive.
       The owner eventually was arrested and convicted of a 
     misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty and was forced to pay a 
     $200 fine and give up Hope to the courts. After that, she was 
     brought to our care for reconstructive surgery. Here we've 
     employed many of the same treatments mentioned above as well 
     as others in order to not only keep Hope alive, but to heal 
     her to the best quality of life we can provide for her and 
     her now adoptive owners.
       One criticism often leveled at biomedical researchers is 
     that if humans so desperately need biomedical research for 
     advancement, they should perform the work on humans, not 
     animals. My question is, what about the animals that need 
     biomedical research?


                 Animals & Research, a five-part series

       Part 1: Unlocking the secrets of genetic disease through 
     animal research
       Part 2: Improving medical treatments for animals
       Part 3: Animals are key to discovering new medicines
       Part 4: The ethics of using animals in research
       Part 5: How research animals live
       Almost completely ignored in animal rights debates are the 
     benefits of humans using non-human animals in research for 
     the exclusive benefit of other non-human animals. In Hope's 
     case, every human intervention that has touched her had to be 
     developed and tested on animals to ensure its safety and 
     effectiveness before it entered general veterinary use.
       From vaccines to veterinary surgical techniques; from 
     improved behavior to better housing; in matters of nutrition, 
     reproduction, habitat restoration and conservation as well as 
     in public health and environmental studies, the examples of 
     biomedical research benefitting wild and domesticated animals 
     are overwhelmingly positive and widespread.
       Many animals studies are conducted in order to discover and 
     develop alternatives to animal use, to prove their efficacy 
     and to advance the science.
       At WSU, for example, I am a veterinary radiation oncologist 
     who studies the best way to treat cancer in animals using 
     radiation therapy. Our research regularly uses client-owned 
     animals with existing cancers that need care to help advance 
     the science for other animals that need care. Healing and 
     research can walk hand in hand.
       Currently, there is no non-living model that can help these 
     animals or the scores of others that will follow them to our 
     care. Were it not for the animal scientists, wildlife 
     professionals, veterinary researchers and clinicians that 
     have dedicated their lives to benefit non-human animals, the 
     animals that suffer from disease, starvation, injury and 
     illness would be left without a voice for their health and 
     well-being.
       Despite what we do, how we do it and the benefits animals 
     derive from it, it's not enough. For the extremist, any use 
     of animals by humans is wrong, even if it benefits other 
     animals.
       Most people, however, understand the need for animal 
     research in many areas, in particular when it benefits 
     animals. They also understand funding limitations and 
     priorities that include studying sentinel species and 
     naturally occurring animal diseases that also occur in 
     humans.
       As scientists and veterinarians, we are not above public 
     scrutiny of our activities. We have a profound responsibility 
     and an economic incentive to pursue optimal animal health, 
     alternatives, non-living models, computer simulation, 
     isolated tissue cultures, reduced animal use, optimal care 
     and, when necessary, the quick and humane death of an animal. 
     As these alternatives are discovered and refined, they are 
     quickly adopted as the new standards for study.
       Again, history is replete with examples where this has 
     occurred. Kidney transplants for animals were unheard of less 
     than a decade ago. Now, thanks to the benefits of biomedical 
     research and clinical practice in animals and in humans, 
     veterinary colleagues at the University of California at 
     Davis have perfected this life-saving surgery for animals.
       Equally as demanding a responsibility to the public is the 
     assurance that the work we do with animals, for animals, is 
     conducted in a scientifically sound, cost-effective and 
     efficacious manner. This reduces overall the need for 
     duplicating studies and the number of animals involved. At 
     the same time, it requires that a sufficient number of 
     initial test subjects be used to demonstrate statistical 
     significance where it exists or, more important, where it 
     doesn't.
       Professionals have no vested interest in keeping costly 
     animal colonies.
       In the case of livestock, for example, doing away with 
     experimental herds where appropriate can save thousands of 
     dollars a day, money that can be applied toward additional 
     findings and further advancement.
       Past uses of animals often are not acceptable to the 
     general public today. These changes come in part through 
     researchers themselves and the non-employee public voices 
     that sit on animal-care and -use committees required at every 
     institution receiving federal research funding.
       Changes in research also come by way of the conscientious 
     efforts of state and federal regulators as well as private-
     industry agencies such as the American Association for the 
     Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care. AAALAC is an 
     independent body that has requirements for animal care and 
     use that supercede the nation's state and federal legal 
     requirements for animal care and use.
       But all of this means nothing to the vocal few who oppose 
     all human interaction with animals and who condemn modern 
     civilization as an unnatural aberration. It's an easy 
     argument to make, the argument of the spoiler.
       Fortunately, most people see through this facade and 
     instead see a voiceless world of animals that need humans as 
     much as we need them.

     

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