NLM Resource Update: Alternatives to Animal Testing

NLM Resource Update: Alternatives to Animal Testing. NLM Tech Bull. 2015 Jan-Feb;(402):b2.

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The National Library of Medicine (NLM) Alternatives to Animal Testing (ALTBIB) portal provides access to PubMed/MEDLINE citations relevant to alternatives to the use of live vertebrates in biomedical research and testing. The ALTBIB topics and subtopics are aligned with current U.S. and international approaches. For example, information is provided on in silico, in vitro, and refined or improved animal testing methods. Strategies that incorporate validated methods and other approaches are also covered.

In addition to the topic areas for PubMed searches, the ALTBIB portal includes a searchable bibliographic collection of alternatives to animal testing, including citations from published articles, books, book chapters, and technical reports published from 1980 to 2000.

The Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB), a part of NLM Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET), now includes subheadings (“/alternative/ and /in vitro tests/”) in the Human and Non-Human Toxicity Excerpts fields. These subheadings allow users to locate data from in vitro and other alternative methods. For example, users can search “ALTERNATIVE IN VITRO TESTS” to locate records with this data. Coverage includes results from methods validated by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM) and the European Union Reference Laboratory for Alternatives to Animal Testing (EURL-ECVAM).