Epilepsy research to use fewer lab rats
Will improve accuracy of data
Epilepsy researchers at the University of Bath in the UK are developing a new technique to reduce the number of animals used for experiments by 90% and give more accurate results.
While drugs are available to control the seizures associated with epilepsy, between 20–30% of patients do not respond to medication and the researchers at Bath are working to understand the condition better with a view to developing new drugs.
Research into epilepsy often relies on experiments with rats. Tracking the development of the chronic condition usually requires brain tissue from groups of several animals to be examined following an induced seizure.
The new project, led by Dr Roland Jones from the University’s Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology, plans to model the chronic epileptic condition in cultured brain tissue from a single rat.
‘Our new model will mean that tracking the changes leading to epilepsy can be done in one rat in each experiment,’ said Dr Jones. ‘This will reduce the number of animals used for these studies by approximately 90%.
He added: ‘This approach will also provide more accurate data because it tracks changes in a single animal’s brain over time, making the data more comparable and quicker to obtain than using groups of several animals.’
The research is funded by a grant of £363,000 from the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) as one of 13 research grant awards that aim to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in experiments.
This year, the Centre is investing over £4m in research including the cause of multiple sclerosis, influenza research, understanding drug addiction and cancer cell biology.
NC3Rs chief executive Dr Vicky Robinson said: ‘In recent years the number of animals used for experiments has increased and now is an especially important time to be looking at ways to bring the numbers down. We must continue to involve the UK’s brightest minds in this challenge and the work of the NC3Rs will help achieve this.’