Turkish Neurosurgery 2017 , Vol 27 , Num 2
Searching Evidences of Stroke in Animal Models: A Review of Discrepancies A Review of Discrepancies
Ahmet Hilmi KAYA1,Hakan ERDOGAN2,Erol TASDEMIROGLU1
1Anadolu Medical Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey
2Maltepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Istanbul, Turkey
DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.15373-15.2 So far, animal models have helped us better understand the pathophysiology of the ischemic brain damage but they could not contribute so much to clinical practice. The discrepancies in results regarding neuroprotective agents in animal experiments compared to clinical trials have not been solved. Various animal models of ischemic stroke have proven efficacy of many neuroprotective agents without any considerable result in phase III clinical trials.

As is well known, stroke-related focal cerebral ischemia or cardiac arrest related global cerebral ischemia are major causes of disability and death among human subjects. Animal models are essential to evaluate the therapeutic approaches for humans.

In this review, we will try to answer two important questions: 1) Which factors endanger the reliability of experimental studies of stroke on animal models? 2) How can we design our experiments to reflect the neurorestoration and/or neuroprotection mechanisms following ischemic injury, when it comes to human disease? Keywords : Stroke, Animal models, Discrepancies

Corresponding author : Ahmet Hilmi KAYA, ahmethilmikaya@yahoo.com