Italian animal facilities and labs featured on national news

TGR, a state-owned Italian news broadcaster, visited the animal facilities housing mice and zebrafish at the University of Milan, an EARA member.  

The reporter, Elena Cestino, highlighted that animal research is still necessary and how welfare is supported by maintaining optimal and stable environmental conditions and ensuring social interaction among animals. She also shared how analgesia and anaesthesia are always present to prevent any suffering.  

Giuliano Grignaschi, head of animal welfare at the University of Milan and spokesperson for Research4life, explained that the reduction in the number of animals used in Italy in the past years, from around 800-900,000 to 350,000 animals in 2023, is due to the continuous development and improvement of non-animal methods, but also to the high costs of animal research.  

Experiments with animals are only authorised in Italy and in the EU if it is demonstrated that there are no viable alternatives. In many areas, such as neuroscience and toxicology testing (the primary areas of research using animals at the University of Milan)their use is still inevitable.  

Nicoletta Landsberger, a researcher studying Rett syndrome, a rare genetic disease with onset at 6-18 months of age that almost exclusively affects girls and causes progressive loss of motor and cognitive abilities, shares: "We can grow cells and neurons in vitro, but [using these models] we can't understand the consequences on behaviour, memory and motor skills." 

In a separate interview, the reporter spoke with Guido Papa, another researcher who developed a technology that reduced the formation of tau protein aggregates (a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease) in mice by up to 90%. 

Besides Tau, other protein aggregates are also relevant for disease, including for the multiplication of respiratory syncytial virus, which affects the lungs and is particularly dangerous for young children and vulnerable individuals. His goal now is to develop an antiviral that can destroy these protein aggregates.