Abstract-Text (inkl. Referenzen und Bildunterschriften)

Objective:

Operating animal models of acute brain injury raises five questions: 1. Do we need the "Animal neuro-ICU"? 2. Large vs. small animal models? 3. How long should animal models last? 4. Is age / pre-existing co-morbidity of relevance? 5. Is there a relevance of sex?

Methods:

A review of the literature is done reflecting the clinical aspects of intensive care in acute brain injury. Further, aspects of the difference between gyrencephalic and lissencephalic models we reviewed as well as large and non-large animal models. The necessity of age, pre-existing morbidity, and the relevance of sex were processed in a literature search.

Results:

The literature recommends neurocritical care tailored for moderate-to-severe acquired brain injury. Gyrencephalic brain reflects the human situation favoring large animal models. Most models last 3 days to 2 two weeks. However, the duration of intensive care measures lasts between 1 hour to 54 hours. Age, pre-existing co-morbidities, and sex are relevant factors for outcome.

Conclusion:

Intensive care is relevant in animal models of traumatic brain injury. It has the potential to reduce the translational gap for therapeutics and diagnostics.