From: viking@iastate.edu (Dan Sorenson)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.animals
Subject: Re: Animal Research (mouse screens?)
Date: 6 Oct 92 05:46:22 GMT
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA

black@che.serum.kodak.com (Robert Black (x37236)) writes:

> (James M Hoskins) writes:

	I'll respond ot both here... 

>>It bothers me.  Healthy cats suddenly find themselves
>> crippled, and there is undoubtedly pain involved for the animal.  I call
>> this "non-directed" research because it apparently is an exploration of
>> nerve regeneration in cats, with the way-down-the-road implication of
>> shedding light on the human spinal column and spinal column injuries.
>> Should this specific research program be banned?  I think not.  What's your 
>> opinion?

	I agree, banning in not necessary.  The only pain that needs to
be involved is the "phantom pain" associated with lost limbs, and I do
not know if this exists in spinal injuries.  From the paras and quads
I've spoken to, it doesn't exist in spine injuries.  No pain, just numb.
How this relates to animals in open to interpretation, but it's a fairly
safe bet the nervous system operates in a similar manner.

>Without knowing more, I would have a problem with this.  Why were
>healthy cats selected? Assuming that it's even possible to extrapolate
>the results of the experimental techniques to human accident victims,
>then was it really necessary to surgically sever the spines of healthy
>cats rather than locate cats who had already suffered the types of
>injuries that were being studied? 

	And just what causes spinal injuries in cats?  We're after
scientific evidence here, not meatball surgery.  I suppose the cat
run over by a car would do, but the internal injuries would most
likely negate any spinal reconstruction that might happen.  If you
would prefer, I can shoot the spinal column in various farm animals
and let the scientists try to reconstruct it, but as in most real-
world injuries, the extent is far beyond the scope of the research.
If you want them to just attempt to save animals, you have to determine
the specific parts before you can apply them to the whole.

>For that matter, was there any attempt
>to try these techniques directly on human volunteers who had suffered
>the severing of spinal nerves.

	FYI: the spinal column will repair itself if the damage is not
too great and focused solely on the nerves.  They grow at something like
1mm/year.  This is why a deep puncture wound will be numb after it has
healed, but gradually regain feeling.  Spinal injuries are a magnitude
more serious, of course, and the growth rates are different.  Any
injury that severes nerves generally causes other serious complications,
and thus only a few regain mobility through nerve regeneration.  If I
were a para, I'd seriously wonder about the chances of regeneration
versus repair.  Also, medical ethics prevents surgery on the healthy,
and spinal injuries don't qualify as threatening in most cases.  Unless
the technique shows real promise, it's very rare to get experimental
techniques used on healthy humans.

<Dan Sorenson, DoD #1066 |"I see angels on Ariels in leather and>
<z1dan@exnet.iastate.edu | chrome, Swooping down from heaven to >
<viking@iastate.edu      | carry me home."   ---    R. Thompson >
<ISU thinks I need more education, which they provide for a fee.>
Newsgroups: talk.politics.animals