No More Allergies?

Today, more than 150 million Europeans suffer from chronic allergic diseases. Up to 20% of patients with allergies live with a severe debilating form of their condition, and struggle daily with the fear of a possible asthma attack or even death from an allergic reaction. Unfortunately, the exact causes of such diseases are not known yet, which makes it extremely difficult for scientists to develop a cure.

An allergy can be defined as a misguided reaction to foreign substances, usually harmless, by the immune system. These substances are called allergens and examples are pollen, dust mites, food, medicines, etc.

As I am allergic to many things, I know how irritating and painful an allergic reaction can be. Besides coughing and sneezing, most people, including myself, also suffer from swollen itchy eyes and allergic eczema. Unfortunately, up until today, there are only medicines available that mitigate the pain.

However, there might be a remedy in the future since scientists at VIB-UGent have managed to unravel the functioning of what is thought to be the ‘master protein’ that drives a range of widespread allergic diseases, such as asthma and eczema. Professor Savvides explained that the protein TSLP, causes inflammation of the white blood cells, which eventually can lead to an allergic disease. Since they now know how TSLP functions in the body, Professor Beyaert was able to develop a molecule that inhibits the functioning of TSLP and thus it  functions as an allergy inhibitor.

Now they are still working on the development of the medicine, but they hope to sell the medicine within 10 years. One thing is sure, if this medicine works, millions of patients will be grateful to Professor Savvides and Professor Beyaert.

Animal Testing

Every year, an estimated 26 million animals are used in the United States for scientific and commercial testing. Dogs, fish, mice, rabbits, … are used to develop medical treatments and to determine the toxicity of medications and other biomedical, commercial and health care uses.

Testing cosmetics on animals is, in my opinion, cruel and inhuman. We can all live without mascara, foundation, lipstick,… so why should we let an animal suffer for our luxurious lifestyle?! Nowadays, many alternative tests were developed without the use of animals. Human Skin Model tests, Hen’s Egg Test Membrane and Slug Mucosal Irritation assays are examples of such alternative developments. Additionally, the introduction of the 7^th Amendement Cosmetics Directive in Europe only led to a greater need for alternatives because it prohibits the testing of cosmetics or cosmetic ingredients on animals. 

However, animal testing has contributed to a big progress in understanding and treating conditions such as breast cancer, brain injury, childhood leukemia, cystic fibrosis, malaria, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, and many others. Animal research allows us to investigate the effects of a new drug on the homeostasis, the interactions between different cells and tissues and its absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion.

Unfortunately, replacing animal research by validated alternatives is not that simple due to the difficult simulation of physiological conditions. So the question we have to ask ourselves is: “Is it worth it?”. Well, in this case my answer is yes. Animals do not have the cognitive ability or moral judgment that humans do and they often make better research subjects than human beings because of their shorter life cycles.

Animal testing is not a crime to me as long as there is no unnecessary pain inflicted and there is a real possibility of benefit to human beings. More information can be found by clicking on the URL-link below.

http://animal-testing.procon.org/#arguments