title: Animal models of spinal cord injury: a systematic review.
abstract: METHODS
  PRISMA-guided systematic review.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To provide a comprehensive framework of the current animal models for investigating spinal cord injury (SCI) and categorize them based on the aims, patterns and levels of injury, and outcome measurements as well as animal species.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  An electronic search of the Medline database for literature describing animal models of SCI was performed on 1 January 2016 using the following keywords: 'spinal cord injuries' and 'animal models'. The search retrieved 2870 articles. Reviews and non-original articles were excluded. Data extraction was independently performed by two reviewers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among the 2209 included studies, testing the effects of drug's or growth factor's interventions was the most common aim (36.6%) followed by surveying pathophysiologic changes (30.2%). The most common spinal region involved was thoracic (81%). Contusion was the most common pattern of injury (41%) followed by transection (32.5%) and compression (19.4%). The most common species involved in animal models of SCI was the rat (72.4%). Two or more types of outcome assessments were used in the majority of the studies, and the most common assessment method was biological plus behavioral (50.8%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Prior to choosing an animal model, the objectives of the proposed study must precisely be defined. Contusion and compression models better simulate the biomechanics and neuropathology of human injury, whereas transection models are valuable to study anatomic regeneration. Rodents are the most common and probably best-suited species for preliminary SCI studies.
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharif-Alhoseini
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.|Students' Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khormali
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.|Students' Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rezaei
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Safdarian
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.|Students' Scientific Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hajighadery
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Khalatbari
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Safdarian
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neuro-Organic Chemistry, Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics (IBB), University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meknatkhah
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rezvan
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chalangari
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Derakhshan
authors.affiliation: Sina Trauma and Surgery Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rahimi-Movaghar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology