Pull the drawers open! Call-up to come out with negative results in animal-based research

摘要

In human medicine so-called evidence-based medicine represents an important standard to present results and transfer data out of clinical trials into routine medical care, since it was established by D.L. Sackett (Sackett et al. 1996) and the Cochrane Institute was founded (1972). The overall goal is to facilitate transmission of scientific findings to practicing physicians. Depending on respective research questions, study findings are collected via systematical literature review, followed by regarding its evidence. Thus, the physician will be given an instrument, with which he can asses and apply obtained knowledge in view of specific clinical circumstances. In recent years, however, criticism increased since the outcome of many clinical trials was presented too positive in its review. Publication bias is supposed to be one of the main reasons. This may be explained by the observation that authors prefer publishing scientific findings with significant positive results/ output. Transferring these facts to preclinical research, based to a large extend on animal experimental investigations, withholding of negative results would imply fatal contradiction to the 3R-principles of Russel and Burch (Russel and Burch 1959).