pt | en Login Registo
pt | en Login Registo
EARA Newsletter

3 de Novembro de 2025

 
 

EARA News Digest 2025 - Week 45


Welcome to your Monday morning update, from EARA, on the latest news in biomedical science, policy and openness on animal research. 

This week: Why Canada's primate research must continue – an EARA comment; EARA and KU Leuven launch pioneering patient engagement event in Belgium; Psoriasis gene affects gut health in mice.

Responses to members’ requests may take a little longer than usual this week due to the EARA Conference. We look forward to welcoming over 200 participants and invite you to follow #EARA2025 for updates and to share your own highlights from the event.

Why Canada's primate research must continue – an EARA comment 

The New Democratic Party in Canada has launched a petition to halt primate imports for biomedical research, based on a conflation of unproven allegations that could cost lives. While the petition is wrapped in animal conservation language, it conveniently ignores the human lives saved by the very research it seeks to abolish.  

The core claim is that Canada is importing "wild-caught" monkeys laundered into the US as captive-bred. This is based on unproven allegations that have been categorically denied. The petition tries to leverage COVID-19 fears by claiming that it may have been a zoonotic disease, which is an undeniable contradiction, once the vaccines that saved millions of lives during the pandemic were developed using macaque models. Biomedical research, including primate research, when there is no viable alternative, lessens the risk of zoonotic diseases by allowing their study and the development of treatments and vaccines. 

Long-tailed macaques are endangered primarily due to habitat loss from deforestation and agriculture, not biomedical research. Purpose-bred, captive, self-sufficient populations don't deplete wild populations. The petition demands the immediate suspension of all imports, with no transitional period, no consideration of ongoing research, and no acknowledgement that critical drug trials and vaccine development programs would be halted, potentially delaying treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and emerging infectious diseases. 

Canada's stringent oversight framework ensures animals are used only when necessary and with minimal suffering. Canada won't end primate research; it will export it to countries with weaker protections while crippling our pandemic response capacity.  

Read EARA’s full comment here.  

 

 

EARA and KU Leuven launch pioneering patient engagement event in Belgium

EARA's Patient Discovery initiative held the first Discovery Day in Belgium, hosted by EARA member KU Leuven, Leuven Brain Institute and Mission Lucidity, bringing the Community Advisory Board of the European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA) closer to the use of animals in brain disease research. 

The EFNA Community Advisory Board, which includes patient representatives from neurological associations across Belgium, Spain, the UK and Romania, toured multiple laboratories studying neurodegeneration in fruit flies, mice and monkeys. 

Valerie Uytterhoeven demonstrated fruit fly research to study mutations associated with Parkinson’s disease, while Inmaculada Ruiz showed how mice are used in dementia studies. Peter Janssen presented macaque monkey research in preclinical dementia trials, with virtual reality navigation being tested in monkeys for paralysed patients. At the Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging facility, participants saw how biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment monitoring are developed first in animals and then used in people living with Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s. 

Participants visited rodent and non-human primate facilities to observe housing, care and health monitoring procedures, including implementation of the 3Rs principles (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement).  

"What stood out most wasn't just the cutting-edge science - it was the care, transparency and ethical commitment," said Jagdeep Aujla, Belgium Discovery Day participant living with Parkinson’s disease and representing the Dopamine Warriors Boxing Club, UK. 

This Discovery Day is another step for EARA in engaging active patient advocates and building long-term collaborations with patient associations in different countries, strengthening dialogue and trust between patients and the scientific community in Europe. 

 

 

Psoriasis gene affects gut health in mice 

Researchers in Belgium have discovered, in a mouse study, that a gene mutation long linked to psoriasis also affects gut function. 
Psoriasis is a chronic, non-contagious skin condition caused by an overactive immune system. It leads to red, scaly patches and skin inflammation and may affect other organs, including the gut.  

Scientists at the VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research, an EARA Member, studied the role of the gene CARD14, which was already known for driving inflammation in the skin of psoriasis patients, in the gut. They engineered mice to carry a psoriasis-related CARD14 mutation in their intestinal lining. The animals showed slower gut transit, subtle inflammation and changes in gut microbes, even though their intestinal tissue remained intact. 

The researchers found that the CARD14 mutation altered the activity of intestinal cells, including cells that help control bacterial populations. This reduced antimicrobial defences and increased the animals’ susceptibility to bacterial gut infection. 

“Our study shows that CARD14’s impact isn’t limited to the skin,” said Aigerim Aidarova, first author of the work published in EMBO Molecular Medicine. “In the intestine, this mutation leads to subtle but important changes that may contribute to symptoms in patients who carry it.” 

By linking a skin-disease gene to intestinal health, the study highlights how genetic factors can influence multiple organs and adds to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying autoimmune diseases, which are still poorly characterised. 

 

 

Registo na página SPCAL

O registo é rápido e permite-lhe acesso a conteúdos exclusivos e reservados para utilizadores cadastrados na página da Sociedade Portuguesa de Ciências em Animais de Laboratório.

Efetuar registo