Systematic reviews demonstrate that animal studies are meaningless for human health
Systematic reviews can help to tell us whether studies are being properly carried out and published. For example, a systematic review in the respected medical journal The Lancetshowed that none of the 500 human clinical trials for an illness called tardive dyskinesia produced any useful data.
Systematic reviews have shown that all types of study can be improved. Where they have been carried out, systematic reviews and other independent studies have shown that animal studies can be relevant for human medical advances.
However, systematic reviews simply cannot provide all the answers. A lot depends on how studies are selected for review. For most animal research, the aim is not to predict what will happen in human trials, but to discover new knowledge or make advances in understanding diseases. In many cases comparing the results of animal research and results from human trials is as meaningless as comparing apples and oranges.
IMAGE: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/DRA_SCHWARTZ
