[Captain Chaos]

Quote by: SHW And what HIV medications have resulted from transgenic rats?

Dunno - I have not researched it.

I do know that I read an article yesterday about a new treatment for prompting an immune response against HIV, that was tested on primates. It appears promising.

With rare exceptions, NHPs(non human primates) don’t develop AIDS when infected with HIV; experimental results cannot be confidently extrapolated to humans. None of 50-plus NHP-tested vaccines (such as “Aidsvax”) has succeeded in humans. Effective anti-HIV drugs were conceived and developed using in vitro and in silico methods, without reliance on animal models.

HIV AIDS > Rabies-based vaccine could be effective against HIV

Quote by: http://www.avert.org/hiv-animal-testing.htm This said, there is one primate still commonly used to conduct efficacy testing: the Rhesus macaque monkey. Because Rhesus macaques originate from Asia, rather than Africa, they have never been exposed to SIV, and thus have no natural immune responses to it. A Rhesus macaque that is infected with SIV will therefore develop AIDS type illnesses in a relatively short time 3.

You are correct that we have not yet developed an effective HIV vaccine. The assumption that we will never succeed is simple hopelessness. I assume you are not going there.

You may disagree with researchers about the use of monkeys in pursuing an HIV vaccine - but these researchers are experts in the matter, and know more about it than you or I, and they see it is a necessary component of their research. They might not see it as the only necessary component, but they still see it is important to their research.

I am not ready to give up on HIV vaccine research. I do not believe you are offering a better alternative to the use of monkey's in this research.

Quote by: http://www.avert.org/hiv-animal-testing.htm As well as the testing of new drugs and other products, animals may also be used for more general research that aims to gain a greater understanding of a disease. Rhesus macaques, chimpanzees and even cats (who can get Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) may be used as human substitutes to see how HIV-like viruses operate within the body.

I am guessing you assume that this basic science is unnecessary.

You mean proven effective in animals? Which ones ever have been so and then in humans?

I know that both AZT and Tenofovir have been tested in animals for efficacy.


However...

I must acknowledge that HIV is a poor example, because it is a human-only disease. Plenty of HIV medications were tested for safety in animals, before being used in humans, but not really for efficacy.


Would examples of drugs that were tested for efficacy in animals, before being tested on humans, make a difference to you?

If animal testing is so efficient then we should have a slew of HIV meds and discoveries concerning HIV developed from animal testing.

I did not say animal testing was so efficient.

But, look, researchers clearly believe it is a crucial component of what they do.

Are you claiming that we have not made any advances through animal testing that we would not have already made without it?