AMHERST — People for Ethical Treatment of Animals is taking credit for ending an experiment on marmoset monkeys at a University of Wisconsin-Madison laboratory, led by a University of Massachusetts professor, in which animals were to be deprived of sleep for two months to understand how poor sleep may affect dementia and Alzheimer’s disease in humans.

In the National Institute for Health-supported “sleep fragmentation and cognition in aged marmosets” study proposed by UMass professor Agnes Lacreuse, a professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, a dozen monkeys at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center were to be blasted with sounds 60 to 90 decibels loud, in the range of noise made by a lawn mower or vacuum cleaner, every 15 minutes each night for up to two months.

In the end, though, the experiment, supported with a $199,375 grant, lasted only one night for six monkeys before the grant money ran out at the end of April, according to details provided by Amy Meyer, PETA’s manager of Primate Experimentation Campaigns in its laboratory investigations department.

“PETA and our concerned supporters have been pressuring financial backers,” Meyer said.

The organization has been focused on Lacreuse’s work related to menopause for several years, though the professor continues to get significant backing from the federal government, with about $5.5 million for 18 projects since fiscal year 2011, based on documentation in an online National Institute for Health database. NIH supports studies for the National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Aging and National Institute of Mental Health.

Over time, PETA has led several protests on the Amherst campus, including one protester who briefly interrupted the inauguration ceremony for Chancellor Javier Reyes in April.

PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said in a statement that the experiments in Wisconsin were a “horror” and that it was “disgraceful” that the University of Wisconsin allowed its colony of marmosets to be used.

“Now that it’s been stopped, UMass must end Lacreuse’s cruel and pointless menopause experiments on monkeys,” Guillermo said.

The organization contends that marmosets at UMass have had ovaries removed and their hormones manipulated during the ongoing studies.

“PETA will continue to fight to end the equally cruel experiments that they should be ending,” Meyer said.

The UMass News Office issued a statement late last week in support of the continued medical research that has saved and improved the lives of millions of people and animals.

“Today’s medicines and surgical techniques would not have been discovered without a more comprehensive understanding of disease and the way the body works,” wrote spokesperson Melinda Rose. “That is the result of research programs at universities, hospitals and research facilities around the world, including UMass Amherst.

“Animal research has contributed to many of the medical advances we now know today, including vaccines, antibiotics, anesthesia and medicines used to treat serious conditions. Research in the last few decades has also begun to tackle some of the most complex medical problems we face such as heart disease, depression, HIV and cancer. Many key questions in science can only be addressed by studies on animals.”

The university notes that animals are used in research for a wide range of health concerns and when no better options exist, and in fields including veterinary science and agricultural science. Previously, UMass has said its care for the marmoset monkeys meets all federal standards, though a marmoset monkey in UMass custody died in October 2015 when it was burned by a heating pad as it recovered from a vasectomy.

“UMass Amherst has a commitment to care for laboratory animals that involves the highest ethical standards and rigorous attention and adherence to all applicable federal and state laws and guidelines.”

Chris Barncard, a spokesman for the University Wisconsin-Madison, said in a statement that researchers both there and at UMass completed the pilot study that was funded from August 2021 through April 30, 2024.

“They conducted the planned first phase of the research, in which a small group of adult marmosets were awakened several times over the course of one night,” Barncard said. “The scientists will examine the data collected on the effect of the interrupted sleep on the animals, and decide in conjunction with NIH whether the results suggest further research would help us better understand the causes and development of Alzheimer’s.”

But he said PETA’s advocacy didn’t affect the research coming to a close, for now.

“PETA, a group that opposes any research with animals, no matter the circumstances, has suggested they pressured someone into ending the study. In truth, the planned time for the study simply ran its course, and Alzheimer’s researchers will determine the next steps based on what they’ve learned.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.