Ethical issues when modelling brain disorders innon-human primates.

摘要: Non-human animal models of human diseases advance our knowledge the genetic underpinnings disease and lead to development novel therapies for humans. While mice are most common model organisms, their usefulness is limited. Larger animals may provide more accurate valuable models, but it has, until recently, been challenging create large models. Genome editors, such as Clustered Randomised Interspersed Palindromic Repeat (CRISPR), meet some these challenges bring routine genome engineering larger non-human primates (NHPs) well within reach. There growing interest in creating NHP brain disorders autism, depression Alzheimer's, which very difficult or study other including New treatments desperately needed this set disorders. This paper asking: Insofar NHPs being considered use organisms disorders, can be done ethically? The concludes that cannot. Notwithstanding ongoing debate about NHPs' moral status, (1) welfare concerns, (2) availability alternative methods studying (3) unmet expectations benefit justify a stop on creation lure using new technologies combined with promise therapeutics presents formidable challenge those who call slow, careful, only necessary research involving NHPs. But researchers should not macaques social deficits capuchin monkeys memory just because they can.