A UK institute has used ultrasound to more accurately pinpoint pregnancy in mice, which could lead to a reduction in the numbers used for breeding in research.

The Biological Services Unit, of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), introduced the ultrasound machines because it is important to detect the point of pregnancy during research – just one day’s difference to the 20-day gestation (pregnancy) period of mice can significantly alter the embryo.

Early-stage mouse embryos are used, for example, to study development and traditionally, pregnancy in mice has been determined through visual and physical checks, but this can be subjective and prone to error.

By using ultrasound scans, technicians can more accurately check for the key signs, as well as identify which mice are not actually pregnant, so they can be bred again – therefore helping to reduce the numbers used in breeding.

In addition, the team found that the ultrasound could be carried out simply by holding the mice down, without the need for anaesthesia, and took less than a minute. The mice also did not show any distress or changes in behaviour afterwards. 

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a revolutionary new treatment for schizophrenia – the first in 30 years.

Schizophrenia is a serious, chronic mental health condition and the leading cause of disability worldwide, affecting 24 million people.

Current therapies, despite being successful in moderating symptoms in much of the affected population, are often poorly tolerated due to side effects.

The new drug, Cobenfy, performs much better than other treatments and with fewer side effects because of the way it reacts with brain cells, discovered thanks to animal research.

Animal studies using mice and rats demonstrated that one of the drug’s ingredients, xanomeline, supported cognitive functions and could control the symptoms of schizophrenia. The drug was used separately up until the late 2000s, however its side effects in humans led to it being shelved.

Over the last decade, clinical trials of Cobenfy have continued with researchers combining xanomeline with the drug trospium chloride. The trials have now confirmed the effectiveness of the new drug, and saw a similar improvement of schizophrenia symptoms, as shown in the earlier animal studies.

Christoph Correll, at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, New York, who helped to analyse data from the trials, said: “This will be a revolution in the treatment of psychosis, and I’m not saying this lightly! Now we will now be able to treat people who haven’t been helped with traditional antipsychotics.”