A new symposium and a workshop intend to teach researchers involved in animal experimental studies how to carry out systematic literature studies. This is necessary as preclinical animal studies are of such poor quality in research contexts that international high-impact journals are writing about the issue.

2017.03.23 | Nanna Jespersgård

Trustworthy animal experiments require systematic reviews and meta-analyses on a higher level than that which is typically seen today. In reality, only 15-20 per cent of the preclinical animal studies that are published in international academic journals have ‘enough’ quality to be included in the systematic analyses which follow.

Trustworthy animal experiments require systematic reviews and meta-analyses on a higher level than that which is typically seen today. In reality, only 15-20 per cent of the preclinical animal studies that are published in international academic journals have ‘enough’ quality to be included in the systematic analyses which follow.

This criticism comes from international research groups who have problematised the quality of animal research in high-impact journals such as The British Medical Journal, The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet.

And the criticism is acknowledged by Professor Gregers Wegener and University Veterinarian Birgitte Kousholt from the Department of Clinical Medicine. They are the driving forces behind an upcoming symposium on the importance of reviews and meta-analyses of systematic preclinical research.

The symposium, which also includes a workshop, aims to teach both junior and senior researchers how to perform a thorough, transparent and structured analysis of the literature on the basis of already published studies. For this purpose, Wegener and Kousholt have joined forces with the two leading international research groups within the field of preclinical systematic literature studies - CAMARADES and SYRCLE.

Searching and quality assessment are a hassle

"With animal studies we face a special challenge, which is that when undertaking a systematic review, we have to search a large range of databases using systematic search terms and filters. Many researchers therefore make do with a more subjective narrative review. This is based on the researcher's own experience and views, which are then supported by relevant published studies," explains Birgitte Kousholt, leader of the surgical research laboratories at the Department of Clinical Medicine.

"Another problem is the quality assessment of the published studies. This is made more difficult by the fact that even high-impact journals have remarkably few requirements for information which may have affected the final results," she says with reference to the international criticism.

Together with Professor Gregers Wegener, Birgitte Kousholt has founded the AUGUST group, which works to promote the quality of preclinical research and implement what is known as 3R by reducing, refining and replacing animal experiments for the benefit of both animals and humans. AUGUST stands for Aarhus University Group for Understanding Systematic Reviews and Metaanalyses in Translational Preclinical Science.

Aarhus University leads the way

Both researchers emphasise that this is in no way because Aarhus University has a particular issue with preclinical animal studies.

"On the contrary, we want to lead the way in an attempt to solve what is unfortunately a well-documented issue that is currently being discussed at international level – and with good reason. For what use is there in producing research results that cannot be used? It is a waste of research time and money and, ultimately, it negatively effects patients. With this event, we contribute directly to increasing the quality of research, and we therefore hope that many people will take part," says Professor Gregers Wegener, who works at the Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit, which also falls under the auspices of the Department of Clinical Medicine.

The event is free to attend and is open for all interested parties throughout Denmark. For more information and registration please follow this link: http://august.au.dk      

More about AUGUST and 3R

• AUGUST is a consortium at Aarhus University that is working in a targeted manner to ensure better use of systematic reviews and meta-analysis in preclinical science. This is being done through e.g. conferences and symposiums, while the goal is a higher degree of research quality in accordance with the premises that apply in relation to the ideals of 3R. Find out more at http://august.au.dk .  
• 3R deals with ethics and animal experiments and is implemented in Danish legislation. In brief, it involves the researchers having to actively work to find alternatives to animal experiments (replacement), developing and improving the experiments so that they lead to as few animals as possible being used (reduction), and ensuring reduction in the incidence or severity of distress inflicted on the animals that it is still necessary to use (refinement).
• The Danish 3R Centre was established in 2013 by what was then called the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies and animal welfare organisations, among others. Find out more at http://3rcenter.dk/.

Here is where the criticism has been raised 

Animal research has been problematised in these scientific articles and blogs: 

• British Medical Journal http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2016/01/14/paul-glasziou-and-iain-chalmers-is-85-of-health-research-really-wasted/
• Nature: http://www.nature.com/news/no-publication-without-confirmation-1.21509
  http://blogs.nature.com/news/2014/01/even-after-prodding-animal-researchers-omit-key-details.html
• PlosOne: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0007824
  http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1002273
• The Lancet:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24411643

Contact:

Veterinarian, PhD, Birgitte S.Kousholt
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine
The surgical research laboratories
Direct tel.: (+45) 7845 9011
Email: birgitte.kousholt@clin.au.dk

MD, DMSc, PhD, Professor Gregers Wegener
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine
Translational Neuropsychiatry Unit
Direct tel.: (+45) 7847 1112
Mobile: (+45) 5171 7403
Email: wegener@clin.au.dk