Neural Connections Blog

MD Biosciences insights discussing preclinical research in pain, neurodegeneration, and wound healing.

MIA

Osteoarthritis Pain Models: Choosing the Species Before You Choose the Endpoint

Osteoarthritis is one of the largest unmet needs in pain, and one of the most stubborn translational problems in the field. The patient population is...

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Electrophysiology

Electrophysiology as a Translational Endpoint: Why Nerve Conduction Belongs in More Preclinical Packages

Most preclinical neuroscience programs are still built around two categories of evidence. Behavior tells you what the animal does, and histology...

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histology/IHC

Quantitative Histology: What Computational Image Analysis Adds to a Preclinical Package

Histology has always carried a quiet tension. It is the most direct evidence a preclinical study can offer, a look at the actual tissue the candidate...

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corpus callosum

The Cuprizone Model: Reading Demyelination and Remyelination Without the Autoimmune Noise

Remyelination has become the most interesting frontier in multiple sclerosis. The approved therapies for relapsing disease are effective at...

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AAALAC accreditation

What AAALAC Accreditation Actually Signals to Partners

AAALAC accreditation carries practical weight in preclinical drug development, and its implications for program quality extend beyond the credential...

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skin of a representative animal that received a full-skin and muscle incision and retraction surgery (Cornet et al. 2022)

BoNT in Postsurgical Pain: Mechanistic and Behavioral Findings from a Porcine SMIR Model

Botulinum toxin type A has been established as a therapeutic agent in spasticity, dystonia, and cosmetic indications for several decades. Its...

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H&E staining of spinal cord

Adult Tissue and Sex Diversity in SCI: Translational Drug Development

Spinal cord injury presents one of the most challenging translational profiles in central nervous system drug development. The clinical need is...

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Paw withdrawal in the ZDF model

Type 2 Diabetic Neuropathy in the GLP-1 Era

GLP-1 receptor agonists have substantially reshaped the therapeutic landscape for type 2 diabetes and obesity, and the indications now being pursued...

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Rethinking the Preclinical Package for Chronic Kidney Disease: Why Pigs belong in the conversation

Drug development for chronic kidney disease has entered a more ambitious phase. SGLT2 inhibitors, non steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor...

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