Driven by the longer lifespans of humans, particularly in Westernised societies, and the need to know more about 'healthy ageing', ageing mice are being used increasingly in scientific research. Many departments and institutes involved with ageing research have developed their own systems to determine intervention points for potential refinements and to identify humane end points. Several good systems are in use, but variations between them could contribute to poor reproducibility of the science achieved. Working with scientific and regulatory communities in the UK, we have reviewed the clinical signs observed in ageing mice and developed recommendations for enhanced monitoring, behaviour assessment, husbandry and veterinary interventions. We advocate that the default time point for enhanced monitoring should be 15 months of age, unless prior information is available. Importantly, the enhanced monitoring should cause no additional harms to the animals. Where a mouse strain is well characterised, the onset of age-related enhanced monitoring may be modified based on knowledge of the onset of an expected age-related clinical sign. In progeroid models where ageing is accelerated, enhanced monitoring may need to be brought forward. Information on the background strain must be considered, as it influences the onset of age-related clinical signs. The range of ageing models currently used means that there will be no 'one-size fits all' solution. Increased awareness of the issues will lead to more refined and consistent husbandry of ageing mice, and application of humane end points will help to reduce the numbers of animals maintained for longer than is scientifically justified.

中文翻译：

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改善用于科学研究的衰老小鼠的护理，饲养和管理。

由于人类的寿命更长，尤其是在西方社会，以及对“健康衰老”的更多了解的需求，衰老小鼠被越来越多地用于科学研究。许多参与老化研究的部门和研究所已经开发了自己的系统，以确定可能改进的干预点并确定人道的终点。使用了几种好的系统，但是它们之间的差异可能会导致所获得科学的可重复性差。我们与英国的科学和监管机构合作，审查了在衰老小鼠中观察到的临床体征，并提出了加强监测，行为评估，畜牧业和兽医干预的建议。我们主张加强监控的默认时间点应为15个月大，除非有先有信息。重要的是，增强的监控不应对动物造成额外伤害。如果小鼠品系具有良好的特征，则可以基于对预期的与年龄有关的临床体征的认识，对与年龄有关的增强监视的发生进行修改。在衰老加速的早衰模型中，可能需要提出增强的监测。必须考虑有关背景菌株的信息，因为它会影响与年龄有关的临床症状的发作。当前使用的老化模型的范围意味着将没有“一刀切”的解决方案。对问题的认识不断提高，将使衰老小鼠的饲养更加精细和稳定，