Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has been named the most complex disease in the most complex organ of the body. It is the most common cause of death and disability in the Western world in people <40 years old and survivors commonly suffer from persisting cognitive deficits, impaired motor function, depression and personality changes. TBI may vary in severity from uniformly fatal to mild injuries with rapidly resolving symptoms and without doubt, it is a markedly heterogeneous disease. Its different subtypes differs in their pathophysiology, treatment options and long-term consequences and to date, there are no pharmacological treatments with proven clinical benefit available to TBI patients. To enable development of novel treatment options for TBI, clinically relevant animal models are needed. Due to their availability and low costs, numerous rodent models have been developed which have substantially contributed to our current understanding of the pathophysiology of TBI. The most common animal models used in laboratories worldwide are likely the controlled cortical impact (CCI) model, the central and lateral fluid percussion injury (FPI) models, and weight drop/impact acceleration (I/A) models. Each of these models has inherent advantages and disadvantages; these need to be thoroughly considered when selecting the rodent TBI model according to the hypothesis and design of the study. Since TBI is not one disease, refined animal models must take into account the clinical features and complexity of human TBI. To enhance the possibility of establishing preclinical efficacy of a novel treatment, the preclinical use of several different experimental models is encouraged as well as varying the species, gender, and age of the animal. In this chapter, the methods, limitations, and challenges of the CCI and FPI models of TBI used in rodents are described.
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to thank Dr. Fredrik Clausen, Malin Olsen (for designing the FPI cartoon), and Dr. Johanna Flygt for their invaluable help with the animal models and for comment on the manuscript; Dr. Tracy K. McIntosh and Dr. John Povlishock for teaching the author the animal models described herein. This work was supported by funds from the Swedish Research council, European Union and the Uppsala University Hospital.
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Marklund, N. (2016). Rodent Models of Traumatic Brain Injury: Methods and Challenges. In: Kobeissy, F., Dixon, C., Hayes, R., Mondello, S. (eds) Injury Models of the Central Nervous System. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1462. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3816-2_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3816-2_3
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