JRPMS Vol 4, No 3, September 2020, p.86-89
doi: 10.22540/JRPMS-04-086
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Mini Review
Laboratory animal research of metabolic bone diseases in Greece: Laws and ethics
Konstantina Kafantogia
- Infections Department, General Hospital of Attica, “KAT”, Athens, Greece
Keywords: Animal testing, Animal welfare, European legislation, Metabolic bone diseases, Three Rs
Abstract
In the present article the main legal and ethical considerations that form the framework within which a research laboratory in Greece conducts animal testing for research into metabolic bone diseases are discussed. Preclinical testing procedures with animal models are specifically defined by EU law - and in the case of Greece - by its transposition into Greek legislation by the relevant Presidential Decree. This legislation describes the principle of the three Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) and turns ethical considerations into firm legal requirements, necessary for both the protection of animal welfare, as well as the safeguarding of the validity of clinical protocols that research - among others - some of the most widespread endocrine diseases of our time, i.e. metabolic bone diseases.