Mice and rats are the most widely used models because of their well-known genetics, short life cycle and low cost. They are used to induce injuries, diseases or metabolic conditions and to observe how the organism responds to a substance.
Their limits are well known. A rodent's metabolism is much faster than a human's, so amounts and duration of effects do not translate directly: converting an amount per kilo from mouse to human requires body-surface corrections (allometric scaling), and even then it is only an approximation. In addition, many diseases induced in animals do not reproduce the human disease well.
Study quality also counts: group size, randomisation, blinded assessment of outcomes and whether other laboratories have reproduced the finding.
A result in an animal model is a well-founded hypothesis, not a demonstration in humans. Treating it as one is the most common mistake when reading about peptides.
Related terms
Learn it in depth at the Peptide University
- Non-injectable routes: intranasal, oral and topical · Module 8
- Special populations and class warnings · Module 10
- Checklist for reading a study · Module 13
Definition for educational and scientific purposes. It is not medical advice or a recommendation for use. NeoPeptidos products are sold labelled for research use only (RUO).