Abstract
Developmental Neurotoxicity (DNT) is a major issue in children's health worldwide. Current meth-ods for DNT testing are complex and expensive in terms of scientific resources, time and animal use. Given the increasing number of chemicals that need to be tested and the increasing amount of information needed about them, we must look for new approaches to meet the demands for identifying developmentally neurotoxic agents with speed, reliability, and respect for animal welfare.
A program developed by an international steering committee will examine in vitro and non-mammalian approaches to evaluate chemicals for their potential as developmental neurotoxicants. To date, the Steering Committee has established the program, raised initial financial support, and held a joint meeting of CAAT*-CEFIC* and ECVAM* to develop a decision approach to prioritize chemicals for immediate evaluation and began to develop an inventory of methods to measure specific end-points of interest to DNT.
The 1st open registration meeting will be held on:
March 13-15, 2006
Hyatt Regency Reston
Reston, Virginia
(near Washington DC, Dulles Airport)
(Please note the Society of Toxicology [SOT] meetings are scheduled March 5-9th, 2006 in San Diego, California)
To learn more: http://caat.jhsph.edu/dnt
* CAAT - Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing
* CEFIC - European Chemical Industry Council
* ECVAM - European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods
