The development of an online database for interventions tested in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Despite many efforts by the research community, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still an incurable neurodegenerative condition that affects an estimated 44 million individuals worldwide and this figure is expected to increase to 135 million by the year 2050. As the research community currently reflects on previous endeavours, it is essential that we maximize the use of existing knowledge to inform future trials in the field. This article describes the development of a systematically identified data set relating to over 300 interventions tested in over 10,000 animals. The data set includes cohort‐level information for six structural outcomes and six behavioural assessments. We encourage others to use this dataset to inform the design of future animal experiments modelling AD and to promote effective translation to human health.

Technological advances in preclinical meta-research

“…Over the years the MS Access database expanded greatly to facilitate dual citation screening, dual data extraction from full texts, and meta-analysis through custom-built queries of the data. 20 Over 11 years, this resource supported 100s of reviewers to conduct over 50 preclinical systematic review projects. With a growing body of literature and an increasing interest in reviewing more extensive research areas, the number of unique records captured by systematic searches of the literature for various disease areas increased exponentially ( figure 2 ).…”

Curcumin Formulations and Trials: What’s New in Neurological Diseases

“…Several review articles have been published with guidelines on appropriate readouts and group size for preclinical studies on AD. Unfortunately, AD preclinical research is plagued by poor study design including a lack of blinding and randomisation and no sample size calculation [ 106 , 107 , 108 , 109 , 110 ] despite calls for these controls [ 111 ]. With these caveats, several authors have examined nanoformulated curcumin in different animal models of AD and promising beneficial effects have been noted.…”