Reliability of infarct volumetry: Its relevance and the improvement by a software-assisted approach.

ABSTRACT: Despite the efficacy of neuroprotective approaches in animal models of stroke, their translation has so far failed from bench to bedside. One reason is presumed to be a low quality of preclinical study design, leading to bias and a low a priori power. In this study, we propose that the key read-out of experimental stroke studies, the volume of the ischemic damage as commonly measured by free-handed planimetry of TTC-stained brain sections, is subject to an unrecognized low inter-rater and test-retest reliability with strong implications for statistical power and bias. As an alternative approach, we suggest a simple, open-source, software-assisted method, taking advantage of automatic-thresholding techniques. The validity and the improvement of reliability by an automated method to tMCAO in

SUBMITTER: Friedlander F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5536806 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature