Abstract
Over recent years there as been an increase in concern over the potential effects of chemicals on the human infant and adolescent. For pharmaceuticals agents, this increase in concern has led to the need to evaluate in young animals the effects of therapeutic agents intended for the treatment of the human young or agents which may be administered to this age group. For environmental chemicals the wider concern over the potential for life stage sensitivity has been directly translated into regulatory guidelines that address aspects of this potential issue, for example the need to assess the developmental neurotoxicity of pesticides.In order to scientifically and properly assess the effects of chemicals on the neonatal and young animal, it is essential to understand a number of key areas that influence study design. The normal development of the test animal species (rodent or non rodent) should be understood and how this may differ from the post natal development of the human. Any differences in kinetics and exposure between the young and the adult animal should be known and used in dose level selection. Having used this understanding to correctly design the study, of most importance is experience in successfully dosing young animals. At CTL we have extensive expertise in understanding comparative developmental biology, understanding comparative exposure and using our experience in dosing neonatal rodents and non rodents to conduct scientifically and technically robust assessments of juvenile toxicity.
