title: Targeting Translational Successes through CANSORT-SCI: Using Pet Dogs To Identify Effective Treatments for Spinal Cord Injury.
abstract: Translation of therapeutic interventions for spinal cord injury (SCI) from laboratory to clinic has been historically challenging, highlighting the need for robust models of injury that more closely mirror the human condition. The high prevalence of acute, naturally occurring SCI in pet dogs provides a unique opportunity to evaluate expeditiously promising interventions in a population of animals that receive diagnoses and treatment clinically in a manner similar to persons with SCI, while adhering to National Institutes of Health guidelines for scientific rigor and transparent reporting. In addition, pet dogs with chronic paralysis are often maintained long-term by their owners, offering a similarly unique population for study of chronic SCI. Despite this, only a small number of studies have used the clinical dog model of SCI. The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI) was recently established by a group of veterinarians and basic science researchers to promote the value of the canine clinical model of SCI. The CANSORT-SCI group held an inaugural meeting November 20 and 21, 2015 to evaluate opportunities and challenges to the use of pet dogs in SCI research. Key challenges identified included lack of familiarity with the model among nonveterinary scientists and questions about how and where in the translational process the canine clinical model would be most valuable. In light of these, we review the natural history, outcome, and available assessment tools associated with canine clinical SCI with emphasis on their relevance to human SCI and the translational process.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine , Columbus Ohio.|2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|3 Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bristol , Langford, North Somerset, United Kingdom .
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Granger
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|4 Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina.|5 Comparative Medicine Institute, North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Natasha J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Olby
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|6 Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine , Hannover, Germany .|7 Center for Systems Neuroscience , Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Ingo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Spitzbarth
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|8 Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas.
authors.forename: Nick D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Jeffery
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|7 Center for Systems Neuroscience , Hannover, Germany.|9 Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Veterinary Medicine , Hannover, Germany .
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tipold
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|10 College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University , Fort Collins, Colorado.
authors.forename: Yvette S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Nout-Lomas
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine , Columbus Ohio.|2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).
authors.forename: Ronaldo C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: da Costa
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|11 Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Bern , Bern, Switzerland .
authors.forename: Veronika M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|12 Departments of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences and Neurological Surgery, University of California , San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: Linda J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Noble-Haeusslein
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|13 Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. Ardsley, New York.
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Blight
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|14 Department of Neurosurgery, Houston Methodist Neurological Institute , Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Grossman
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|15 School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The Ohio State University , Columbus, Ohio.
authors.forename: D Michele
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Basso
authors.affiliation: 2 The Canine Spinal Cord Injury Consortium (CANSORT-SCI).|8 Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University , College Station, Texas.
authors.forename: Jonathan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Levine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004285:Dogs; D057805:Pets; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
keywords: animal model; clinical trial; dog; spinal cord injury