Alexander Pechtold: held op sokken

Alexander Pechtold draagt twee verschillende sokken uit protest tegen dierproeven die worden gefinancierd door de Alzheimerstichting. 

Held op sokken.
-------------------------

I was deeply saddened to learn that the Alzheimer’s Society has co-funded a series of cruel and outdated experiments on GM mice.

(doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2013.08.005).

As you will know, the animals were genetically altered to develop a crude approximation of Alzheimer’s disease; injected daily with a drug used to treat diabetes in humans; then subjected to highly stressful behavioural tests which involved being forced to swim around in a pool of water looking for an escape route.

Yet the drug’s efficacy in treating Alzheimer’s could have been investigated directly in human patients, given that its safety has already been established in the course of its use as a treatment for diabetes.

Symptoms artificially induced in GM mice do not accurately replicate Alzheimer’s. A recent review paper looked at transgenic mouse ‘models’ of Alzheimer’s (like those used in this experiment) and concluded that ‘none of the models fully recapitulates Alzheimer’s Disease’ 

(doi.org/10.1016/j.drudis.2014.03.013).

Numerous drugs for Alzheimer’s have failed in clinical trials, despite appearing successful in animal tests. Out of 244 potential treatments tested in clinical trials between 2002-2012, more than 99 per cent of them failed.

Sadly, I know that this is not the only example of animal experiments that the Alzheimer’s Society has helped to fund. Although I admire the support you provide for people affected by this terrible disease, I will not feel able to donate to you until you focus your resources solely on humane and productive non-animal research.

***

http://www.e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1825&ea.campaign.id=41525