Humans and swine are known to have great similarities when it comes to anatomy and physiology, making swine an excellent model for research. This article is very interesting because it shows that early swine brain development is very similar to that of humans. It is intriguing to see how these animals compare to children (both at early ages and weights) in their MRI imaging. It is always great to be able to have the research be directly applicable to humans, because the diagnostic tool is one that is being used with people currently. Humans have MRIs done easily and it is something that can easily be instituted to help diagnose children with neurologic disorders. This study focused on body weight rather than age when it came to matching the children to the pigs, and it was found that this method of matching between animal and human worked out very well. There was a little bit of variation in certain chemical levels (CBF) that were being measured but that may also be linked to the anesthesia drugs that were used to anesthetize the animals. This research is very promising and will certainly help future children.
At Animal Biotech, we take great pride in the part that we’ve played in this sort of research. We not only provide live research swine and porcine tissue: we’re also here to offer our expertise on the proper care and housing of live animals.
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