08-03-2015, 05:52 PM
A very good article. You are right, Catherine. The studies do indeed show the extreme folly of thinking that results in animals will be the same - or even similar - in humans. Mice are often used in experiments, but as you say, we are not rodents!!
Regarding the terrible Alzheimer's experiment mentioned in the article, this part hit home: after apparently successful results in mice, results in humans were disastrous:
"But hopes were dashed when the more than 300 volunteers who were moved onto phase 2 of the trial received their multi-dose injections. This was to be the therapeutic part of the trial. Instead, over a dozen patient volunteers began developing serious brain inflammation, and the number of cases of serious side effects continued to grow."
It was similar with thalidomide, which was tested on not just mice but lots of different animals, too. See http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=582
Regarding the terrible Alzheimer's experiment mentioned in the article, this part hit home: after apparently successful results in mice, results in humans were disastrous:
"But hopes were dashed when the more than 300 volunteers who were moved onto phase 2 of the trial received their multi-dose injections. This was to be the therapeutic part of the trial. Instead, over a dozen patient volunteers began developing serious brain inflammation, and the number of cases of serious side effects continued to grow."
It was similar with thalidomide, which was tested on not just mice but lots of different animals, too. See http://www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr/index.en.php?id=582
