title: Opportunities to replace the use of animals in sepsis research. The report and recommendations of a Focus on Alternatives workshop.
abstract: Sepsis and multiple organ failure are common causes of death in patients admitted to intensive care units. The incidence of sepsis and associated mortalities has been steadily increasing over the past 20 years. Sepsis is a complex inflammatory condition, the precise causes of which are still poorly understood. Animal models of sepsis have the potential to cause substantial suffering, and many of them have been poorly representative of the human syndrome. However, a number of non-animal approaches, including in vitro, in silico and clinical studies, show promise for addressing this situation. This report is based on discussions held at an expert workshop convened by Focus on Alternatives and held in 2004 at the Wellcome Trust, London. It provides an overview of some non-animal approaches to sepsis research, including their strengths and weaknesses, and argues that they should be prioritised for further development.
authors.affiliation: ScienceSources, Hitchin, UK.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Langley
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brock
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Brouwer
authors.forename: Alun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Clapp
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Newman
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rhodes
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wooldridge
mesh_terms: D000826:Animal Testing Alternatives; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003198:Computer Simulation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology; D023281:Genomics; D006801:Humans; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012107:Research Design; D018805:Sepsis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers