title: Translational models for vascular cognitive impairment: a review including larger species.
abstract: Disease models are useful for prospective studies of pathology, identification of molecular and cellular mechanisms, pre-clinical testing of interventions, and validation of clinical biomarkers. Here, we review animal models relevant to vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). A synopsis of each model was initially presented by expert practitioners. Synopses were refined by the authors, and subsequently by the scientific committee of a recent conference (International Conference on Vascular Dementia 2015). Only peer-reviewed sources were cited.
  
  
  
  We included models that mimic VCI-related brain lesions (white matter hypoperfusion injury, focal ischaemia, cerebral amyloid angiopathy) or reproduce VCI risk factors (old age, hypertension, hyperhomocysteinemia, high-salt/high-fat diet) or reproduce genetic causes of VCI (CADASIL-causing Notch3 mutations).
  
  
  
  We concluded that (1) translational models may reflect a VCI-relevant pathological process, while not fully replicating a human disease spectrum; (2) rodent models of VCI are limited by paucity of white matter; and (3) further translational models, and improved cognitive testing instruments, are required.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neurosciences (J-0B) Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St George's University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK. ahainsworth@sgul.ac.uk.|Department of Neurology, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. ahainsworth@sgul.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Atticus H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Hainsworth
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Stuart M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Allan
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Medicine and Cell Technology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.|Neurovascular Research Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Boltze
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK.
authors.forename: Catriona
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cunningham
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Chad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Farris
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Nutritional Sciences, Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Head
authors.affiliation: Department of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ihara
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neurosciences (J-0B) Molecular and Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St George's University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK.|Department of Neurology, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jeremy D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Isaacs
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: Raj N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Kalaria
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Saskia A M J
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lesnik Oberstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Mark B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.affiliation: Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Leipzig, Germany.|Clinic for Nuclear Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.|Institute for Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nitzsche
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Health Sciences Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.|Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Julie W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Rutten
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: Melita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salkovic-Petrisic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry Food and Nutrition Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
authors.forename: Aron M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Troen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D015140:Dementia, Vascular / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Experimental models; In vivo models; Translational models; VCID; Vascular cognitive impairment; Vascular dementia