hitmankratos Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Hey everyone, I was wondering, with all the alzeihmer research going on, how can they test something on rats? Is it by injecting them whatever they want with a special technique? How does it work for these kind of tests? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mokele Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 They genetically engineer rats to exhibit Alzheimer's, then try whatever treatment they like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitmankratos Posted July 6, 2009 Author Share Posted July 6, 2009 How can they tell is the rat is getting any better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insane_alien Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 because it would stop exhibiting signs of alzheimers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mokele Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Well, actually, they'd tell by cutting up its brain (Alzheimers is associated with distinctive plaque structures in the brain). That's why rats are so useful - they progress through the diseases fast (due to short lifespan), can be reared in controlled identical environments, can be as close to genetically identical as possible, and, most importantly, can be killed in order to perform more invasive tests. None of these are possible with humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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