Animal Welfare in Radiation Research: The Importance of Animal Monitoring System

SIMPLE SUMMARY: In the years following World War II, scientists became very interested in the effects of radiation, especially after the atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. They started using animals like mice in their experiments to understand more about radiation. They wanted to know how much radiation is safe, how often to use it, how to care for people who suffer from this disease, as well as where to place cells during bone marrow transplants and how many cells to use. During these experiments, scientists noticed that sometimes the animals did not feel well or were in pain. So, they came up with ways to check on the animals’ health. They created scoring systems to assess the animals’ condition. This is important because we want to make sure animals are treated well in research. That is why scientists use these scoring systems to monitor the well-being of animals. Occasionally, different scientists use different rules, which can be confusing. For this reason, it is important to have common rules that everyone agrees on, which helps make sure that the research is accurate and that scientists from different places can work better together. ABSTRACT: Long-term research into radiation exposure significantly expanded following World War II, driven by the increasing number of individuals falling ill after the detonation of two atomic bombs in Japan. Consequently, researchers intensified their efforts to investigate radiation’s effects using animal models and to study disease models that emerged post-catastrophe. As a result, several parameters have been established as essential in these models, encompassing radiation doses, regimens involving single or multiple irradiations, the injection site for transplantation, and the quantity of cells to be injected. Nonetheless, researchers have observed numerous side effects in irradiated animals, prompting the development of scoring systems to monitor these animals’ well-being. The aim of this review is to delve into the historical context of using animals in radiation research and explore the ethical considerations related to animal welfare, which has become an increasingly relevant topic in recent years. These concerns have prompted research groups to adopt measures aimed at reducing animal suffering. Consequently, for animal welfare, the implementation of a scoring system for clinical and behavioral monitoring is essential. This represents one of the primary challenges and hurdles in radiation studies. It is concluded that implementing standardized criteria across all institutions is aimed at ensuring result reproducibility and fostering collaboration within the scientific community.