Tuesday, 09 April 2019 10:41

World Parkinson's Day: No cure despite countless animal experiments Featured

Just in time for the World Parkinson's Day on 11 April 2019, this year's experimental animal of the year - the mouse in Parkinson's research - was published today. Extensive research by the Federal Association of People for Animal Rights Germany (PARG) revealed that, despite countless mouse manipulations, there is still no effective therapy against the disease. Therefore, the association calls for new methods using modern human-specific methods.


Parkinson's disease (shaking palsy) is regarded as the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer' s disease. In Germany it affects 250,000 to 280,000 people. By dying nerve cells that produce the messenger substance dopamine, it comes to typical motor problems such as muscle tremors, slowing down of the body and of movements, muscle stiffness or rigid facial expressions. The treatment gold standard is still always levodopa, a drug from the 70s. But the current pharmaceuticals only alleviates the symptoms.

 

Photo: kalhh, Pixabay


The mouse is the animal most frequently used in experiments for research into Parkinson's. In Germany, nearly 66,000 mice were approved in trials 2017. In order to simulate the symptoms of the human disease, the animals are genetically engineered or damaged with a neurotoxin.

The association also criticizes the fact that worldwide countless genetically modified Parkinson's disease animal models are being developed, although the cause of the disease found in 90 per cent of all Parkinson's patients is not genetic at all. In addition, in tests the drugs are administered to young animals even though Parkinson's disease is predominantly age-related.

Since Parkinson's disease is human-specific, complex and multifactorial there should, according to the association, be applied new, cell-based models from patient tissue for the development of suitable therapies. Combined approaches with stem cells, 3D patient cell cultures, computer-aided analyses and imaging procedures  are very promising. Through screening studies on cell cultures in high throughput they were already identified new potential therapeutics.

However, animal-free methods for a systemic research approach are still under development. Although organ models and chip technologies are the technologies of the future, they are not yet able to simulate an entire organism. Therefore, in addition to a concrete timetable and an action plan for a step-by-step phasing out animal experiments there would be a comprehensive public financing concept needed.

The long version of the brochure on the laboratory animal of the year can be downloaded here: