J Appl Biomed 6:47-56, 2008 | DOI: 10.32725/jab.2008.007

Genetically altered mice, man and medicine

Nirmala Bhogal^*

FRAME, Nottingham, United Kingdom

Several million genetically altered mice are used worldwide each year for research, toxicity testing, or simply to create or sustain mutant models. In fact, as our understanding of the genetic differences between mice and men improves, so does the drive to create mouse models of human disease and toxicity. However, while some models have proven to be useful and confer tangible benefits in terms of clinical management of disease, many others add little value to clinical medicine or human safety emphasising the need for a thorough investigation of the actual or future value of such models to human medicine.

Keywords: disease; genetically altered; mouse; mutant; welfare

Received: February 6, 2008; Revised: March 10, 2008; Published: July 31, 2008  Show citation