The AAMC Aug. 29 submitted comments to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) in response to a request for information on strategies for advancing sepsis research.
The NIGMS requested input from the extramural community “on approaches to advance an understanding of the mechanisms of sepsis and its resolution and to accelerate translation of this understanding into early detection strategies and improved therapies.”
In its letter, the AAMC notes that sepsis is a complex, multisystem condition and that understanding the disease requires “study of the interactions of the immune system and the host organism it is trying to protect.” For this reason, in vitro and in silico research approaches are not sufficient to study sepsis, and animal models must be one of the primary avenues of exploration of disease progression.
The AAMC recognizes that while there are challenges in the use of animal research to understand a human condition, issues of timing and complexity make animal models more likely to be productive in understanding this disease, and encourages a commitment to ensuring availability of and funding for animal models of sepsis.