Refinement Database

Database on Refinement of Housing, Husbandry, Care, and Use of Animals in Research

This database, created in 2000, is updated every four months with newly published scientific articles, books, and other publications related to improving or safeguarding the welfare of animals used in research.

Tips for using the database:

  • This landing page displays all of the publications in the database.
  • Use the drop-down menus to filter these publications by Animal Type, Setting, and/or Topic.
  • Clicking on a parent category (e.g., Rodent) will include publications relating to all the items in that category (e.g., Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, etc.).
  • You may also add a keyword to further narrow your search.
  • Please note that at this time, only publications dated 2010 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Animal Type and Topic, and only publications dated 2020 or later (with some exceptions) can be filtered by Setting. Most publications older than 2010 can only be searched by keyword. 
Wilkinson, M. J. A., Selman, C., McLaughlin, L. et al. 2020. Progressing the care, husbandry and management of ageing mice used in scientific studies. Laboratory Animals 54(3) 225–238.

Driven by the longer lifespans of humans, particularly in Westernised societies, and the need to know more about ‘healthy ageing’, ageing mice are being used increasingly in scientific research. Many departments and institutes involved with...

Nørgaard, S. A., Søndergaard, H., Sørensen, D. B. et al. 2020. Optimising streptozotocin dosing to minimise renal toxicity and impairment of stomach emptying in male 129/Sv mice. Laboratory Animals 54(4), 341–352.

The streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mouse model has been extensively used as a model for diabetes and diabetic nephropathy, but it is still influenced by many off-target toxic effects and large variation in diabetes induction. Therefore...

van Dijk, R. M., Koska, I., Bleich, A. et al. 2020. Design of composite measure schemes for comparative severity assessment in animal-based neuroscience research: A case study focussed on rat epilepsy models. PLOS ONE 15(5): e0230141.

Comparative severity assessment of animal models and experimental interventions is of utmost relevance for harm-benefit analysis during ethical evaluation, an animal welfare-based model prioritization as well as the validation of refinement measures. Unfortunately, there is...

Hedenqvist, P., Trbakovic, A., Mellgren, T. et al. 2020. The effect of housing environment on bone healing in a critical radius defect in New Zealand white rabbits. PLOS ONE 15(5), e0233530.

In animal studies on bone healing, the effect of housing space and physical activity are seldom taken into account. Bone formation was evaluated in New Zealand White rabbits (mean ± SEM BW: 3.9 ± 0.11...

Hohlbaum, K., Frahm, S., Rex, A. et al. 2020. Social enrichment by separated pair housing of male C57BL/6JRj mice. Scientific Reports 10, 11165.

Laboratory male mice are often housed individually due to aggressive behavior or experimental requirements, though social isolation can cause welfare issues. As a strategy to refine housing of male mice, we introduce the separated pair...

Bailoo, J. D., Voelkl, B., Varholick, J. et al. 2020. Effects of weaning age and housing conditions on phenotypic differences in mice. Scientific Reports 10, 11684.

Poor reproducibility is considered a serious problem in laboratory animal research, with important scientific, economic, and ethical implications. One possible source of conflicting findings in laboratory animal research are environmental differences between animal facilities combined...

Helgers, S., Talbot, S. R., Riedesel, A. K. et al. 2020. Body weight algorithm predicts humane endpoint in an intracranial rat glioma model. Scientific Reports 10, 9020.

Humane endpoint determination is fundamental in animal experimentation. Despite commonly accepted endpoint criteria for intracranial tumour models (20% body weight loss and deteriorated clinical score) some animals still die before being euthanized in current research...

Zhang, X., Kumstel, S., Tang, G. et al. 2020. A rational approach of early humane endpoint determination in a murine model for cholestasis. ALTEX 37(2), 197-207.

Reduction of animal suffering during in vivo experiments is usually ensured by continuously monitoring the health status using a score sheet and by applying humane endpoints. However, most studies do not evaluate the plausibility of...

Tang, W., Zillmann, U., Sprengel, R. 2020. Alternative anesthesia of neonatal mice for global rAAV delivery in the brain with non-detectable behavioral interference in adults. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 14, 115.

Viral-transduced gene expression is the current standard for cell-type-specific labeling and cell tacking in experimental neuroscience. To achieve widespread gene expression, a viral delivery method to neonatal rodents was introduced more than two decades ago...

Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2020. It’s Okay to Cry - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume V. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

This is the 5th volume of selected discussions that took place on the electronic Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum between February 2016 and December 2019. The forum was created in October 2002; it allows...

Singleton, S., Nefla, M., Dennison, N. et al. 2020. Assessing pain in models of rheumatoid arthritis. Animal Technology and Welfare 19(2), 149-152.

A hallmark symptom of rheumatoid arthritis in humans is painful swollen joints. Pain can manifest before any inflammation is noticeable as well as persist long after inflammation has resolved. In rodent models of arthritis, ankle...

Zude, B. P., Jampachaisri, K., Pacharinsak, C. 2020. Use of flavored tablets of gabapentin and carprofen to attenuate postoperative hypersensitivity in an incisional pain model in rats (Rattus norvegicus). JAALAS 59(2), 163–169.

Providing postoperative analgesia to rats by oral administration, compared with injections, reduces stress from frequent handling and is technically easier for investigators. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether bacon-flavored tablets containing gabapentin...

Rix, A., Drude, N., Mrugalla, A. et al. 2020. Performance of severity parameters to detect chemotherapy-induced pain and distress in mice. Laboratory Animals 54(5), 452-460.

According to European Union directive 2010/63/EU a severity classification of experimental procedures performed on laboratory animals is mandatory. This includes a prospective evaluation of all interventions performed within the experiment, as well as an assessment...

Zieglowski, L., Kümmecke, A., Ernst, L. et al. 2020. Severity assessment using three common behavioral or locomotor tests after laparotomy in rats: A pilot study. Laboratory Animals 54(6), 525-535.

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate whether behavioral or locomotor tests (Open Field (OF), rotarod (RR), and CatWalk (CW)) can help assess the severity of laparotomy in rats. The new EU Directive...

LaFleur, R. A., Williams-Fritze, M. J. 2020. Now hear this: Caring for chinchillas in research. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(5) (September/October), 8-12.

This article describes the authors’ experience with the housing, social housing, husbandry, handling, and environmental enrichment of chinchillas in laboratories.

Stevens, T., Williams, W. R. 2020. Tarps used as visual barriers decrease aggressive conflicts in baboons. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(5) (September/October), 72-74.

Nonhuman primate (NHP) colonies housed in research settings are manipulated frequently due to research protocols, for breeding, and for veterinary procedures. These manipulations come with maneuvering complex group dynamics that can be challenging for baboon...

Szymczyk, K., Gabriel, S., Zegre Cannon, C. 2020. Removing the blindfold in blind intubation: A summary of tips and tricks for successful rabbit intubation. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 8(5) (September/October), 76-81.

Intubation in rabbits can be difficult due to their unique anatomical features. Large incisors, long narrow oral cavities, thick tongues, and limited mobility of the temporomandibular joint make laryngeal visualization difficult. It is the hope...

Berke, M. S., Abelson, K. S. P. 2020. The adjuvant-induced rat model of monoarthritis: Welfare implications and possible refinement strategies. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 46(1), 39-50.

This study investigated welfare, mechanical hyperalgesia and model specific parameters (mobility, stance, joint stiffness and ambulation impairment) during a three-week period in a rat model of monoarthritis. The objective was to identify possible targets for...

Begni, V., Sanson, A., Pfeiffer, N. et al. 2020. Social isolation in rats: Effects on animal welfare and molecular markers for neuroplasticity. PLOS ONE 15(10), e0240439.

Early life stress compromises brain development and can contribute to the development of mental illnesses. A common animal model used to study different facets of psychiatric disorders is social isolation from early life on. In...

Bill, J., Rauterberg, S. L., Herbrandt, S. et al. 2020. Agonistic behavior and social hierarchy in female domestic rabbits kept in semi-groups. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 38, 21-31.

In semi-natural mixed-sex groups, rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) organize their social life by forming a hierarchy, which is characterized by linearity and stability. Compared to the natural environment, many factors are different in contemporary breeding systems...

Bodden, C., Wewer, M., Kästner, N. et al. 2021. Not all mice are alike: Mixed-strain housing alters social behaviour. Physiology & Behavior 228, 113220.

The use of millions of mice in scientific studies worldwide emphasises the continuing need for a reduction of sample sizes, however, not at the expense of scientific validity. Split-plot designs have been suggested to enhance...

Tang, G., Seume, N., Häger, C. et al. 2020. Comparing distress of mouse models for liver damage. Scientific Reports 10(1), 19814.

In order to foster animal welfare as well as high quality of research, many countries regulate by law that the severity of animal experiments must be evaluated and considered when performing biomedical research. It is...

Theil, J. H., Ahloy-Dallaire, J., Weber, E. M. et al. 2020. The epidemiology of fighting in group-housed laboratory mice. Scientific Reports 10(1), 16649.

Injurious home-cage aggression (fighting) in mice affects both animal welfare and scientific validity. It is arguably the most common potentially preventable morbidity in mouse facilities. Existing literature on mouse aggression almost exclusively examines territorial aggression...

Borland, J. M., Kim, E., Swanson, S. P. et al. 2020. Effect of aggressive experience in female Syrian hamsters on glutamate receptor expression in the nucleus accumbens. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 14, 583395.

Our social relationships determine our health and well-being. In rodent models, there is now strong support for the rewarding properties of aggressive or assertive behaviors to be critical for the expression and development of adaptive...

Grífols, R., Zamora, C., Ortega-Saez, I. et al. 2020. Postweaning grouping as a strategy to reduce singly housed male mice. Animals 10(11), 2135.

Rearing laboratory mice in groups is important since social isolation after weaning induces brain alterations, which entails behavioral abnormalities in adulthood. Age is an important factor when grouping males of different litters due to inter-male...