ILAR Journal: Current Issue

50(4): Pain and Distress in Fish

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400

Introduction: Pain and Distress in Fish: A Review of the Evidence

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400

Challenges in Assessing Fish Welfare

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400

Pain Perception in Fish: Indicators and Endpoints

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400

Fish Sedation, Analgesia, Anesthesia, and Euthanasia: Considerations, Methods, and Types of Drugs

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400

Effects of Restraint and Immobilization on Electrosensory Behaviors of Weakly Electric Fish

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400

The Zebrafish: A Model to Study the Endogenous Mechanisms of Pain

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400

Morphologic Effects of the Stress Response in Fish

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400

Testing the Waters: IACUC Issues Associated with Fish

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:00 -0400

50(3): Sleep-Disordered Breathing: Exploring a Human Disorder Using Animal Models

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

Introduction: Sleep-Disordered Breathing across the Life Span: Exploring a Human Disorder Using Animal Models

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

"Sleep-disordered breathing--and in particular, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)--and its comorbidities have a major impact both on individual health and on health care systems in general. The use of animal models is essential as investigators continue to learn about OSA and advance the transition from identifying mechanisms of injury to developing therapeutic interventions." --Estelle B. Gauda, Issue Co-Editor

Breathing and Sleep: Measurement Methods, Genetic Influences, and Developmental Impacts

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

"Sleep-disordered breathing comprises alterations in respiratory rate, rhythm, and depth that present during sleep and may or may not be recognizable in breathing during wakefulness. Primary disorders include repetitive apneas, near apneas (hypopneas), or reductions in overall ventilation during sleep (hypoventilation), all of which lead to reductions in pulmonary gas exchange resulting in arousals, arrhythmia, hypercapnia, acidosis, and/or hypoxic stress responses such as pulmonary hypertension or polycythemia...." --David M. Baekey, Pingfu Feng, Michael J. Decker, and Kingman P. Strohl

Cardiovascular Consequences of Sleep-Disordered Breathing: Contribution of Animal Models to Understanding of the Human Disease

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

"Sleep-disordered breathing, and particularly the highly prevalent obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, is a multicomponent disorder combining intermittent hypoxia (IH), sleep fragmentation, and obstructed respiratory efforts. It is frequently associated with comorbidities and leads to numerous complications, including cardiovascular consequences that are conditioned by genetic predisposition..." --Maurice Dematteis, Diane Godin-Ribuot, Claire Arnaud, Christophe Ribuot, Fran¸oise Stanke-Labesque, Jean-Louis Pépin, and Patrick Lévy

Vascular Effects of Intermittent Hypoxia

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

"Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by repeated upper airway obstruction during sleep and affects between 5% and 20% of the population. Epidemiological studies reveal that sleep apnea and associated intermittent hypoxemia increase the risk for hypertension and vascular disease but the mechanisms underlying these effects are incompletely understood. This review reports the results of rodent..." --Nancy L. Kanagy

Metabolic Consequences of Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

"There is increasing evidence of a causal relationship between sleep-disordered breathing and metabolic dysfunction. Metabolic syndrome (MetS), a cluster of risk factors that promote atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, comprises central obesity, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, manifestations of altered total body energy regulation. Excess caloric intake is indisputably the...." --Jonathan Jun and Vsevolod Y. Polotsky

Insight from Animal Models into the Cognitive Consequences of Adult Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

"Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) afflicts tens of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people worldwide, and the possibility that the disease may cause permanent neural injury is therefore a significant concern. Numerous comorbidities--including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity--are associated with the disease, and it is quite difficult, if not impossible, in clinical studies to...." --Sigrid Veasey

An IACUC Perspective on Animal Models of Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 16:30:00 -0400

Gene Therapy in Large Animal Models of Human Genetic Diseases

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

Introduction: Gene Therapy in Large Animal Models of Human Genetic Diseases

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

"A major challenge to the medical sciences is the large number of disorders that are primarily genetic in origin or that involve a genetic predisposition to disease-producing factors in the environment. These disorders include a wide variety of debilitating and fatal illnesses for which few effective methods of treatment or prevention are available. Among the most common diseases in which genetic abnormalities...." -- John H. Wolfe

Gene Therapy for Lysosomal Storage Diseases (LSDs) in Large Animal Models

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

"Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are inherited metabolic disorders caused by deficient activity of a single lysosomal enzyme or other defects resulting in deficient catabolism of large substrates in lysosomes. There are more than 40 forms of inherited LSDs known to occur in humans, with an aggregate incidence estimated at 1 in 7,000 live births. Clinical signs result from the inability of lysosomes to degrade large substrates; because most lysosomal enzymes are ubiquitously expressed, a deficiency in a single enzyme can affect multiple organ systems. Thus LSDs are associated with high morbidity and mortality and represent a significant burden on patients, their families, the health care system, and society..." -- Mark Haskins

Gene Therapy for Inherited Metabolic Disorders in Companion Animals

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

"Scientists first described inborn errors of metabolism, also termed inherited disorders of metabolism, early in the 20th century and since then have determined the biochemical and genetic bases of a great number of these disorders both in humans and in an increasing number of companion animals. The availability of metabolic screening tests has advanced the biochemical and genetic characterization in affected breeds of companion animals of inherited metabolic disorders involving amino acid, carbohydrate, fatty acid, and metal metabolism..." -- Dwight D. Koeberl, Carlos Pinto, Talmage Brown, and Y.T. Chen

Large Animal Models of Neurological Disorders for Gene Therapy

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

"The development of therapeutic interventions for genetic disorders and diseases that affect the central nervous system (CNS) has proven challenging. There has been significant progress in the development of gene therapy strategies in murine models of human disease, but gene therapy outcomes in these models do not always translate to the human setting. Therefore, large animal models are crucial to the..." -- Christine Gagliardi and Bruce A. Bunnell

Protein Replacement Therapy and Gene Transfer in Canine Models of Hemophilia A, Hemophilia B, von Willebrand Disease, and Factor VII Deficiency

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

"Dogs with hemophilia A, hemophilia B, von Willebrand disease (VWD), and factor VII deficiency faithfully recapitulate the severe bleeding phenotype that occurs in humans with these disorders. The first rational approach to diagnosing these bleeding disorders became possible with the development of reliable assays in the 1940s through research that used these dogs. For the next 60 years, treatment consisted of replacement of the associated missing or dysfunctional protein, first with plasma-derived products and subsequently with recombina..." -- Timothy C. Nichols, Aaron M. Dillow, Helen W.G. Franck, Elizabeth P. Merricks, Robin A. Raymer, Dwight A. Bellinger, Valder R. Arruda, and Katherine A. High

Potential Large Animal Models for Gene Therapy of Human Genetic Diseases of Immune and Blood Cell Systems

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

"Genetic mutations involving the cellular components of the hematopoietic system-red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets-manifest clinically as anemia, infection, and bleeding. Although gene targeting has recapitulated many of these diseases in mice, these murine homologues are limited as translational models by their small size and brief life span as well as the fact that mutations induced by gene targeting do not always faithfully reflect the clinical manifestations of such mutations in humans...." -- Thomas R. Bauer Jr., Rima L. Adler, and Dennis D. Hickstein

Gene Therapy in Large Animal Models of Muscular Dystrophy

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

"The muscular dystrophies are a group of genetically and phenotypically heterogeneously inherited diseases characterized by progressive muscle wasting, which can lead to premature death in severe forms such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). In many cases they are caused by the absence of proteins that are critical components of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex, which links the cytoskeleton and the basal lamina. There is no effective treatment for these disorders at present, but several novel strategies for replacing or repairing the..." -- Zejing Wang, Jeffrey S. Chamberlain, Stephen J. Tapscott, and Rainer Storb

Gene Therapy in Large Animal Models of Human Cardiovascular Genetic Disease

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

"Several naturally occurring animal models for human genetic heart diseases offer an excellent opportunity to evaluate potential novel therapies, including gene therapy. Some of these diseases--especially those that result in a structural defect during development (e.g., patent ductus arteriosus, pulmonic stenosis)--would likely be difficult to treat with a therapeutic gene transfer approach. However, the ability to transduce a significant proportion of the myocardial cells should make the various forms of inherited cardiomyopathy amenable to..." -- Meg M. Sleeper, Lawrence T. Bish, and H. Lee Sweeney

AAV-Mediated Gene Therapy for Retinal Disorders in Large Animal Models

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

"Retinal gene therapy holds great promise for the treatment of inherited and noninherited blinding diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. The most widely used vectors for ocular gene delivery are based on adeno-associated virus (AAV) because they elicit minimal immune responses and mediated long-term transgene expression in a variety of retinal cell types. Extensive preclinical evaluation of new strategies in large animal models is key to the development of successful gene-based therapies for the retina...." -- Knut Stieger, Elsa Lheriteau, Philippe Moullier, and Fabienne Rolling

Large Animal Models of Genetic Disease: Pertinent IACUC Issues

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:30:00 -0400

-- N. Matthew Ellinwood and Colin M. Clay

50(1) The Neurobiology of Social Behavior