To Improve Translational Research in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

• Published in: Translational stroke research 2018-02, Vol.9 (1), p.1-3
• Main Authors: Suzuki, Hidenori, Nakano, Fumi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bias; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Blood-brain barrier; Brain research; Cardiology; Clinical trials; Editorial; Experiments; Ischemia; Laboratory animals; Neurology; Neurosciences; Neurosurgery; Sexes; Stroke; Traumatic brain injury; Vascular Surgery
• ISSN: 1868-4483; 1868-601X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12975-017-0546-2

[...]cerebrovascular anatomy and collaterals, as well as biological and secondary neuroinflammatory responses to insults, are different between species or strains, causing flawed design, unreliable outcomes, unnecessarily more costs, and experimental animals [7, 9–11]. [...]stroke patients have many comorbidities or vascular risk factors including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, cardiac diseases, current smoking, obesity, poor diet, inactivity, high alcohol intake, psychosocial stress and depression, social factors such as marital and residence status (i.e., living alone), and prestroke dysfunction, causing stroke severity [5, 14]. Animal models having these factors are also subjected to different stroke injuries or changes in the structure of the neurovascular unit [14]. [...]the use of young healthy animals causes a barrier for translation of findings to patients, while, in preclinical stroke studies with comorbidities, comorbidity duration and severity as well as housing conditions of the animals used, which potentially influence outcomes, should be reported in details. [...]both EBI and cerebral vasospasm occur in the time frame of 72 h in the mouse or rat model, precluding the dissociation between EBI and cerebral vasospasm-induced or other delayed brain injuries. [...]SAH researchers should understand the advantages and disadvantages of each animal model and choose a suitable model dependent on the research question. [...]we can say that the failed clinical trials could have been predicted and avoided if the review and the meta-analysis had been performed before planning the clinical trials.