Are researchers moving away from animal models as a result of poor clinical translation in the field of stroke? an analysis of opinion papers

Objectives

Despite decades of research using animals to develop pharmaceutical treatments for stroke patients, few therapeutic options exist. The vast majority of interventions successful in preclinical animal studies have turned out to have no efficacy in humans, or to be harmful to humans. In view of this we explore whether there is evidence of a move away from animal models in this field.

Methods

We used an innovative methodology, the analysis of opinion papers. Although we took a systematic approach to literature searching and data extraction, this is not a systematic review because the study involves the synthesis of opinions, not research evidence. Data were extracted from retrieved papers in chronological order and analysed qualitatively and descriptively.

Results

Eighty eligible papers, published between 1979 and 2018, were identified. Most authors were from academic departments of neurology, neuroscience or stroke research. Authors agreed that translational strok...

研究目标
尽管数十年来学界依托动物模型开展脑卒中患者的药物治疗研发工作，但目前可用的临床治疗方案仍屈指可数。绝大多数在临床前动物实验（preclinical animal studies）中展现出有效性的干预手段，最终在人体研究中被证实不仅无治疗功效，反而可能对人体造成损害。有鉴于此，本研究旨在探究该领域是否存在脱离动物模型的研究转向相关证据。

研究方法
本研究采用了一项创新研究方法：观点性论文分析。尽管我们在文献检索与数据提取环节采用了系统性方法，但本研究并非系统综述（Systematic Review）——因本研究旨在整合学术观点而非原始研究证据。研究人员按论文发表的时间顺序从检索所得文献中提取数据，并开展质性分析与描述性分析。

研究结果
本研究共筛选出1979年至2018年间发表的80篇符合纳入标准的论文。绝大多数作者来自神经内科、神经科学或脑卒中研究相关的学术院系。作者们一致认为，脑卒中转化...