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Review
. 2012 Feb;33(2):173-81.
doi: 10.1038/aps.2011.203.

Laboratory animals as surrogate models of human obesity

Cecilia Nilsson  1 , Kirsten Raun, Fei-fei Yan, Marianne O Larsen, Mads Tang-Christensen
Affiliations
Review

Laboratory animals as surrogate models of human obesity

Cecilia Nilsson et al. Acta Pharmacol Sin. 2012 Feb.

Abstract

Obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases represent a growing socioeconomic problem throughout the world. Great emphasis has been put on establishing treatments for this condition, including pharmacological intervention. However, there are many obstacles and pitfalls in the development process from pre-clinical research to the pharmacy counter, and there is no certainty that what has been observed pre-clinically will translate into an improvement in human health. Hence, it is important to test potential new drugs in a valid translational model early in their development. In the current mini-review, a number of monogenetic and polygenic models of obesity will be discussed in view of their translational character.

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