Example: Searching for Replacements for animals in Multiple Sclerosis research

For Multiple Sclerosis (MS) there are many animal ‘models' that are widely used that have well known limitations in how they represent the condition in humans, and they can cause the animals severe suffering. During MS, and other neurodegenerative conditions, the myelin coating of neural axons within the central nervous system become damaged. Repairing this damage is often the research goal, and this process is called remyelination. We're using "remyelination" as the primary search term here.

Juliet Dukes
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4 minutes

Nih

In this example, we're using PubMed, widely considered the largest and most comprehensive database for biomedical literature. Navigate to <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/>

Click "PubMed"

To combine different search terms in a single search, click "Advanced"

Click this dropdown to expand search to all fields or limit to keywords/title/abstract etc.

To enter search terms click the "Search Term:" field.

In this example of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research, we're using "remyelination" as the **biological process** primary search term. Repairing the myelin coating of neural axons within the central nervous system caused by MS and other neurodegenerative is the ultimate research goal, and this is called remyelination. For MS there are many animal ‘models' that are widely used that have well known limitations to how they represent the condition in humans, and can cause the animals severe suffering.

To add another search term, and build up a search string, click "Add with AND"

In this example, we're combining the **biological process** of "remyelination" with "oligodendrocyte" the myelinating cells of the central nervous system and a key **biological element** of the process we're researching.

Click "Add with AND"

We will also add the term "vitro" to hint at an experimental approach that might avoid the use of animals.

Click "Add with AND" to combine the terms

Click "Search" to search using all the combined terms "remyelination" AND "oligodendrocyte" AND "vitro"

This search, carried out on 11/02/2025 returned 605 results

This search was restricted to all articles published between 2004 and 2025. To adjust this publication date, click here.

Click this dropdown to select the order in which the results are displayed.

In this example, the second publication returned when the results are displayed by "Best match" has a promising title.

Click "Show more results" to scroll through the other results

In this search, the 23rd result displayed also shows a very promising lead

Individual publications can be selected for further evaluation by checking the box to the left of the title.

Results can be saved by clicking "Save"

It's possible to save "All results" or a subset of them.

Results can be downloaded into a spreadsheet suitable for applications like Excel by selecting the "CSV" option.

Click "Create file" to download the spreadsheet.

Clicking the "Advanced" menu after a search has been done will show the parameters used for the search.

The parameters for the search can also be downloaded in a spreadsheet format, by clicking "Download"

Going back to the more promising results of the search, click "Experimental models of demyelination and remyelination" to see the article in more detail.

Click "Free PMC article" to access the journal and read the article.

We're now going back to the other promising paper identified (number 23) in a cursory scroll through the results.

Click "In vitro modeling of central nervous system myelination and remyelination."

Click through to the publisher and journal to read the article.