Medical milestones Animal research has played an important role in most major medical advances of the last century . We have probably all benefited from vaccines and antibiotics to prevent and treat infections and anaesthetics used in all forms of surgery.
Medicines can now overcome serious conditions such as diabetes , asthma and high blood pressure.
Research in the last few decades has also begun to answer some of the more difficult medical problems such as cancer , heart disease and depression , and newly emerged infections such as HIV . In addition to the medical benefits, we should not forget that every advance in veterinary medicine is, by definition, the result of animal research. Medical science has developed a wide range of non-animal experimental techniques which can provide answers to scientific questions that animal studies simply could not address. Despite these scientific advances, a review of some current medical research shows that many key questions in medical science can still only be answered by studies on animals. These studies offer hope to millions who suffer from serious conditions such as cystic fibrosis , Alzheimer's disease , stroke , spinal cord damage and third world infections like malaria.