National Antivisection Society
Human cell system to fight hospital killer
The past two decades have seen the emergence of a new disease, termed Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome, or MODS. This syndrome has reached epidemic proportions in most intensive care units (ICUs) and is now the most common cause of death in the surgical ICU. Although MODS is responsible for 50-80% of all ICU deaths, treatment options are mainly supportive, largely because of a failure to fully understand how this syndrome develops.
MODS is the gradual and progressive deterioration of organ systems resulting from an uncontrolled inflammatory response to severe illness or injury. It also affects the immune and endocrine systems. MODS has been studied in both laboratory animals and cell culture models. Rats and mice are typically used for this type of research. They are injected with pathogens to trigger MODS and as the disease progresses, their organs fail and their bodies slowly deteriorate in a painful and drawn-out procedure.
In a bid to overcome such unnecessary animal suffering, and to highlight the superior nature of cell culture systems in furthering understanding of the syndrome, we have awarded a grant of £31,000 to aid the development of a suitable human cell based system. The grant was awarded to Dr. Karl Wooldridge of the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation at Nottingham University. LDF increased the grant to enable the system to be developed without the use of any animal derived ingredients. We are eagerly waiting to hear how this project develops, as the research focuses on an area of science where severe animal suffering is inflicted.
