People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) not only works with the National Institutes of Health (NIH); Florida Governor Ron DeSantis They also asked the University of Wisconsin-Madison to halt a research project it says involved animal abuse.
The study aimed to gather information about age-related cognitive decline and involved disrupting the sleep of older marmosets, small, long-tailed monkeys from South America.
“As the governor of the state with the largest number of elderly people in America, [DeSantis] in a special position to denounce — before the censure begins — is planned “Aging” experiment “We are conducting research on small marmoset monkeys,” PETA clarified its work in an email to FOX News Digital.
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“PETA has obtained documents showing that: [a research team] “I'm going to wake up the monkey by making loud noises every 15 minutes all night long,” the email continued.
In a letter to DeSantis released exclusively to Fox News Digital, Cathy Guillermo, PETA's senior vice president of research, called the study “horrifying.”
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) contacted the National Institutes of Health about a study to be conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (pictured above, left). The study will disrupt the sleep of older marmosets to learn more about age-related cognitive decline. PETA also sent a letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, hoping he will become governor of the state with “the oldest population of Americans.” (St. Petersburg)
“While keeping monkeys awake is considered a form of torture that would ultimately lead to death for humans, it does not mimic insomnia in humans,” she wrote.
“This proposed experiment is so cruel that it has been classified by the university as a so-called 'Column E' study, meaning it would cause suffering and pain without any relief.”
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The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and led by Agnes LaCruz of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, will be conducted at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the record on the NIH website.
PETA sent this letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis asking for his help in halting a study scheduled to be conducted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It says the Sunshine State has more than 412,000 PETA members and supporters in Florida. (PETA)
PETA sent a second, more detailed letter to the NIH.
“The proposed experiment would cause irreparable harm to nonhuman primates for an experiment that would provide little or no new scientifically valuable knowledge or human benefit.” says the letter, signed by Dr. Catherine V. Lo, a neuroscientist with PETA's Research Directorate. Department.
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Lowe urged the NIH to “consider defunding these highly invasive experiments and redirect that funding to research that has the potential to actually help our growing human race.” requested. elderly population. ”
The study aimed to gather information about age-related cognitive decline and involved disrupting the sleep of older marmosets, small, long-tailed monkeys from South America. (St. Petersburg)
“Improving the lives of America's aging population is increasingly important and deserves serious attention from the scientific community,” PETA's Lowe acknowledged in a statement to FOX News Digital.
But she also said, “It's appalling that the NIH is wasting taxpayer funds by keeping marmosets awake at night in experiments that are not only cruel and unnecessary, but also have no hope of improving.” human health. ”
“Better research can and has been done using human volunteers,” Lowe suggested.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) headquarters building in Norfolk, Virginia, May 2023. (St. Petersburg)
“The NIH and the Wisconsin National Primate Center should be ashamed of themselves for conducting experiments that inflicted maximum suffering on these monkeys under the guise of meaningful science,” she added.
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Michelle Ciucci, chair of the animal program and professor of surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Fox News Digital that researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Massachusetts Amherst are collaborating on the study. Alzheimer's disease.
“They are focused on the role.” [that] “Sleep deprivation contributes to this debilitating disease, which often leads to fatal complications,” she said.
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Their goal is to develop new ways to study Alzheimer's disease, she said.
“To better understand and combat human diseases like Alzheimer's disease, researchers need to turn to animals that mimic complex human biology,” Ciucci said.
“Non-human primates like marmosets share similar biological features with humans, particularly in their brains, and offer an opportunity to study the causes and potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease. ” the dean and researcher told FOX News Digital. (St. Petersburg)
“Non-human primates like marmosets share similar biological features with humans, particularly in their brains, providing an opportunity to study the causes and potential treatments for Alzheimer's disease. ”
In this NIH-funded pilot study, researchers plan to disrupt sleep in adult marmosets, a primate commonly used in brain research, Ciucci noted.
“To better understand and combat human diseases like Alzheimer's disease, researchers need to turn to animals that mimic complex human biology.”
“Other scientists have found links between sleep disorders and conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but this has not yet been established. Lack of sleep That could be the cause of those disorders,” she said.
During the course of the study, small groups of animals woke up from sleep several times a night, Ciucci said.
The research will be conducted at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, according to NIH records. (St. Petersburg)
In later stages, they wake up for three consecutive nights.
“Animals, cared for under the careful supervision of specially trained veterinarians, are awakened by sounds, which are brief beeps that are about the same volume as a normal conversation or an alarm clock.” she stated. “The sound is loud enough to wake the animals, but not loud enough to scare them.”
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Researchers tracked the animals' behavior, cognitive performance, and other “biological indicators” to determine whether the sleep disturbance causes cognitive impairments and biochemical changes similar to those seen in human patients with Alzheimer's disease. researchers told Fox News Digital.
As for why the study was classified as “Category E,” Ciucci said sleep disturbances could “cause discomfort that cannot be managed with typical methods such as medication.” .
Researchers said it would be “unethical and difficult” to use humans in studies investigating the role of sleep in the development of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. (St. Petersburg)
“Providing drugs or other remedies would impede the validity of the study and its interpretation,” she said.
Researchers said it would be “unethical and difficult” to use humans in studies investigating the role of sleep in the development of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
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“Until scientists understand the causes and development of Alzheimer's disease and are able to investigate further treatments in humans, researchers, patient advocates like the Alzheimer's Association, the public, and experts from federal agencies must The National Institutes of Health has reviewed and funded marmoset sleep research because it considers it promising and important. public health,” she added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to both Governor DeSantis' office and the NIH for additional comment.
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