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----- Original Message ----- 
From: Robin Russell 
To: poetwill AT sbcglobal.net 
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 5:16 PM
Subject: Lab chimps show same stress symptoms as tortured human
http://www.poetwill.org/primates_usage.htm 
Lab chimps show same stress symptoms as tortured human
Published Date: 03 August 2008 

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech/Lab-chimps-show-same-stress.4352535.jp

By Jeremy Watson

CHIMPANZEES subjected to laboratory experiments suffer similar levels of 
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as humans who have been tortured, 
according to a new study.

The study, which will be presented to a scientific conference in Edinburgh 
tomorrow, will fuel calls for a Europe-wide ban on the use of primates in 
medical and pharmaceutical trials.

An assessment of the behaviour of 116 chimps involved in animal research 
found that 95% displayed at least one of the distinctive patterns of 
behaviour that humans show when suffering from PTSD.

Now living in a primate sanctuary in the US, the chimps showed symptoms of 
depression, anxiety and compulsive behaviours not observed in wild 
populations.

The study was carried out by American physician Hope Ferdowsian, who will 
deliver the findings to an international primate conference at the Edinburgh 
International Conference Centre.

Ferdowsian, who has evaluated the mental condition of human torture victims, 
said: "The high prevalence of mental disorders we observed in these 
chimpanzees offers a new reason to support proposals to stop using great apes 
in laboratory experiments.

"We now know that a chimpanzee's mind and emotional well-being are affected 
by experimentation in ways that parallel the psychological trauma experienced 
by victims of torture and other forms of abuse."

Experimentation on chimpanzees is still allowed in the US, although there is 
a ban already in place in the UK.

But Ferdowsian, director of research policy at the Physician's Committee for 
Responsible Medicine, insisted that the findings would apply to all primates, 
including monkeys. 

Around 3,000 monkeys are still used for scientific trials - mainly for 
research into human diseases such as Parkinson's, schizophrenia, obsessive 
compulsive disorder, HIV and strokes - every year in the UK because of 
similarities in brain physiology.

Last year, more than 800 monkeys died in laboratory experiments in Scottish 
research centres.

Around Europe, 10,000 primates are used in experiments every year but some 
members of the European Parliament are pressing for a ban.

One supporter of a ban is Scottish MEP David Martin, who called for the 
development of alternatives. 

"It is the failure to develop and validate modern non-animal tests that 
perpetuates the reliance on out-dated animal experimentation, and when these 
procedures are carried out on our closest animal relatives, people are 
rightly appalled," he said.

A spokesman for the campaign group Advocates for Animals said: "There is huge 
political and public support for a European ban on the use of great apes and 
Dr Ferdowsian's research makes an already strong case unanswerable."

The full article contains 428 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday 
newspaper.
Page 1 of 1


  a.. Last Updated: 02 August 2008 8:34 PM 
  b.. Source: Scotland On Sunday 
  c.. Location: Scotland