Major Medical Breakthroughs that Primate Research has Provided to Humanity

Discoveries Through Primate Models

From: 1999 Report of Progress, p.42 (Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research)

MAJOR MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS THAT PRIMATE RESEARCH HAS PROVIDED TO HUMANITY

"...The majority of advances in human medicine have been based on research using experimental animals. Research using laboratory animals...has had a major impact on public health, resulting in significant decreases in morbidity and mortality throughout the world..."

POLIO

Vaccines based on primate research have reduced the number of cases of polio in the United States from 58,000 to one or two per year.

RH DISEASE

The development of Rh immunoglobulin has reduced the number of cases of Rh disease in babies to fewer than 16 in every 10,000. Rh disease was once a very common problem.

AlDS

Many of the drugs that are proving to be effective in combating AIDS were tested in primates. Many other potential drugs were proven to be ineffective in primates, sparing humans from clinical trials with ineffective drugs.

ATHEROSCLEROSIS

Dietary supplements to treat homocystinuria, a condition that can lead to atherosclerosis, were developed in research with monkeys.

PERIODONTAL DISEASE

Research with monkeys established that a specific bacterium is associated with periodontal disease. This disease affects 75 percent of all adults and is responsible for 70 percent of adult tooth loss.

A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, flurbiprofen, was shown to be effective in halting the progression of periodontal disease in monkeys, and is now used in humans.

HEPATITIS A

The use of immunoglobulin injections to protect against hepatitis A was developed in chimpanzees. Recently, a safe effective vaccine for hepatitis A was developed through research with chimpanzees and tamarins.

HEPATITIS C

The identification, isolation, and cloning of hepatitis C virus was dependent upon research in chimpanzees.

AIR QUALITY STANDARDS

Safe air quality standards have been established through research on lung disease in monkeys experimentally exposed to air pollution.

RETINA DEVELOPMENT

Research with rhesus monkeys established the importance of a dietary amino acid, taurine, in the development of the retina of the eye. As a result of these findings, taurine is added to human infant formulas resulting in the prevention of blindness.