Palmer College of Chiropractic

Chiropractic Research

Q & A on Animal Research at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research

1. How many square feet is the newly remodeled facility at Palmer and how much did it cost?

The remodeled Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research is 25,000 square feet, with four floors and a basement. Palmer spent almost $3 million. The federal government, through the National Center for Research Resources, provided $1.3 million more. After a year of renovation, the facility was occupied in October 2002. With 60 percent more work space, the new center can accommodate a much larger research clinic, human and in-vitro bioengineering laboratories, electron and light microscopy, neuroanatomy and a variety of physiology laboratories, conferencing, offices and data management and storage.

2.What specific enhancements to Palmer’s research program does the new facility provide?

High-tech lab equipment is installed in the lower level, including a cadaver lab, electron microscopes, classrooms, a darkroom and data storage facilities. The research clinic occupies the entire first floor, with an expanded reception area, more examination rooms, conference rooms and consultation rooms. The second floor has administrative and faculty offices which have been modernized and upgraded. The third floor has two biomechanics labs, offices, a conference room and the research library. On the all new fourth floor are the basic science labs.

3. Why do we need to “test” the subluxation theory to advance chiropractic?

In its early years, chiropractic’s reputation as a legitimate form of health care was based largely on anecdotal evidence. Patients would experience relief from a pain or incapacity and they would spread the word that the chiropractic care really worked. However, in scientific circles, legitimate care techniques have to be analyzed and proven through controllable, repeatable lab and clinical studies. That is the job of modern chiropractic research – to determine the efficacy of chiropractic techniques in providing health care to people in a vast array of circumstances.

Modern chiropractic theory still is based on D.D. Palmer’s assertion that the body’s inherent self-healing ability relies on the maximum performance of the nervous system, which can be normalized or enhanced by a spinal manipulation (or adjustment) to remove any neural interference (the subluxation). Palmer is committed to the advancement of the art and philosophy of the chiropractic profession by contributing to the scientific understanding and application of its principles. The PCCR also supports research activities in clinical and basic science with both animals and humans.

Palmer is highly committed to a strong and ongoing research program. The Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research (PCCR) was created in 1995 to combine the resources of Palmer College of Chiropractic in Iowa and Palmer College of Chiropractic West in California. In the fall of 2000, the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Research Resources awarded the PCCR a $1.3 million grant (mentioned in Answer 1), the first time the federal government has been involved in such a project at a chiropractic college.

At present, PCCR has 11 full-time and five adjunct faculty, one research assistant and 13 technical and administrative staff members. It has one of the largest internal budgets among chiropractic institutions, with support from public and private sources. There are six specific research programs underway at this time. The Experimental Biomechanics and Neurosciences Research Program is geared toward basic science-oriented studies relevant to chiropractic theory and practice, especially subluxation and the chiropractic adjustment. Studies in this program attempt to model and test hypotheses with respect tot the biomechanical and neurological mechanisms underlying chiropractic concepts and procedures. This research relies heavily on sophisticated technological instrumentation and laboratory controls.

4. Why do we need research to improve chiropractic care?

The experimental biomechanics and neurosciences research program is geared toward basic science-oriented studies relevant to chiropractic theory and practice, especially subluxation and the chiropractic adjustment. Studies in this program attempt to model and test hypotheses with respect to the biomechanical and neurological mechanisms underlying chiropractic concepts and procedures, its research relying heavily on sophisticated technology and laboratory controls.

The bedrock reason for chiropractic is to help patients feel better and live better. With ongoing research, chiropractic techniques can be improved and patients’ lives can be enhanced. More knowledge is vital to this process, just as it is necessary throughout health care.

5. Why is animal research necessary for basic science research, including the research needed to “test” the subluxation theory.

While clinical chiropractic researchers are generally interested in evaluating the outcome of a particular treatment, chiropractic basic scientists study fundamental mechanisms that underlie that clinical outcome. These mechanisms are frequently common to all or most animals, and therefore may be studied in a large number of animal species. Of course, there are also significant differences between humans and other animals. Often, these differences provide a unique opportunity because a particular animal species may have a less complex system that actually simplifies the study of a fundamental mechanism. The point is not that animal studies cannot provide valuable information about human physiology, but that scientists must exercise due caution when extrapolating results from animal studies to humans.

Without baseline biological data provided by animal models, clinical studies are more difficult to justify to institutional review boards and the results of such studies are likely to be treated lightly by the larger health care community. This is particularly true for studies examining chiropractic treatment for visceral conditions. In all likelihood, animal studies will have to be followed up by human studies to confirm and extend observations and conclusions drawn from animal studies.

Animal research has been vital to our understanding of human physiology. For example, research on nerve fibers in squid have helped us understand how the human nervous system carries information great distances within the body and converts the information back and forth between electrical and chemical signals. This knowledge could someday help a paralyzed individual to regain the use of arms or legs or various senses, an almost unimaginable loss if never uncovered first in a laboratory.

6. Why can’t alternatives such as computer models and cell cultures replace animal research when conducting basic science research in chiropractic?

As explained by the Foundation for Biomedical Research, computer models and cell cultures, as well as other adjunct research methods, are excellent avenues for reducing the number of animals used. These methods are used to screen and determine the toxic potential of substance in the early stages of investigation, thereby reducing the total umber of research animals needed. The final test, however, has to be done in a whole, living system. Even the most sophisticated technology cannot mimic the complicated interactions among cells, tissues and organs that occur in humans and animals. Scientists must understand these interactions before introducing a new treatment or substance into humans.

7. How can research results derived from animal testing be extrapolated to humans?

There are many similarities between the physiological systems of human and various species of animals. For example, studies with mice have helped us discover things about human immune systems and studies with dogs have expanded our knowledge of human cardiovascular systems. Further, the results from animal studies provide the necessary information legally required to design human trials. Scientific and ethical reasons require our knowing how an entire biological system will be affected by a drug or procedure before it can be tested in humans.

8. What regulations does Palmer have in place to ensure the safety and humane treatment of lab animals? Are they in compliance with all regulations and guidelines?

As indicated by the Palmer Chiropractic University System Board of Trustees in October, 2002, the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research can conduct “appropriate, responsible and ethical care and use of laboratory animals in research, governed by the principles, policies and procedures of the U.S. Public Health Service’s Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.

Further, Palmer has also established an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to oversee all activities related to the use of lab animals, which has received official approval from the U.S. Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare. There is also an internal set of guidelines, the “Code of Ethics for the Care and Use of Animals,” which must be adhered to at all times, by all employees.

When Palmer accepted the money for the renovation of the PCCR facility, the federal government stipulated that any animal care areas had to meet their guidelines for HVAC, light, sound, food storage, cleaning, soaps, handling, cage design, etc.

Palmer has been granted Assurance Number A4388-01 from the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare. They are also in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). These agencies conduct random, unannounced annual inspections to determine the level of compliance with their regulations.

9. Does Palmer use lost or stolen animals in its research?

No, PCCR buys laboratory animals from professional licensed suppliers who also must meet stringent guidelines for handling and maintaining the rats and cats needed for studies. The use of quality animals in experiments is fundamental to the integrity of the research itself.

10. Do the animals at Palmer experience pain? What assurances are there that this doesn’t happen?

Potential pain or discomfort is monitored at all times for the animals during a procedure. During experiments, the animals are sedated and given analgesia for possible pain. When euthanasia is necessary, it is conducted while the animal is under anesthesia.

11. What happens to the animals after an experiment?

In some situations, the animals are euthanized (under anesthesia). In many situations, the animal can be returned to the population housed at the facility for use in other programs. Palmer maintains about 80 rats at present. After the appropriate governmental approvals are granted, the center will house two or three cats at a time.

12. Do we have the right to experiment with animals? What about their rights?

Some 70 percent of all Americans support the idea of animal research experiments for the benefit of humane health care. Many in the scientific community embrace the concept that the benefits far outweigh the harm or potential harm to an animal or a species. Animal rights is a separate issue from the idea of animal welfare.

13. Where can people get more information about animal research?

The USDA Web site regarding animal welfare is: http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic.

The National Association for Biomedical Research’s Web site is: www.nabr.org.

BACK TO TOP