Nervous system diseases and disorders are highly prevalent and substantially contribute to the overall disease burden. Despite significant information provided by the use of animal models in the understanding of the biology of nervous system disorders and the development of therapeutics; limitations have also been identified. Treatment options that are high in efficacy and low in side effects are still lacking for many diseases and, in some cases are nonexistent. A particular problem in drug development is the high rate of attrition in Phase II and III clinical trials. Why do many therapeutics show promise in preclinical animal models but then fail to elicit predicted effects when tested in humans? On March 28 and 29, 2012, the Institute of Medicine Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders convened the workshop "Improving Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders" to discuss potential opportunities for maximizing the translation of new therapies from animal models to clinical practice. The primary focus of the workshop was to examine mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of translational neuroscience research through discussions about how and when to use animal models most effectively and then best approaches for the interpretation of the data collected. Specifically, the workshop objectives were to: discuss key issues that contribute to poor translation of animal models in nervous system disorders, examine case studies that highlight successes and failures in the development and application of animal models, consider strategies to increase the scientific rigor of preclinical efficacy testing, explore the benefits and challenges to developing standardized animal and behavioral models. Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: Workshop Summary also identifies methods to facilitate development of corresponding animal and clinical endpoints, indentifies methods that would maximize bidirectional translation between basic and clinical research and determines the next steps that will be critical for improvement of the development and testing of animal models of disorders of the nervous system.

Nervous system diseases and disorders are highly prevalent and substantially contribute to the overall disease burden. Despite significant information provided by the use of animal models in the understanding of the biology of nervous system disorders and the development of therapeutics; limitations have also been identified. Treatment options that are high in efficacy and low in side effects are still lacking for many diseases and, in some cases are nonexistent. A particular problem in drug development is the high rate of attrition in Phase II and III clinical trials. Why do many therapeutics show promise in preclinical animal models but then fail to elicit predicted effects when tested in humans? On March 28 and 29, 2012, the Institute of Medicine Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders convened the workshop "Improving Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders" to discuss potential opportunities for maximizing the translation of new therapies from animal models to clinical practice. The primary focus of the workshop was to examine mechanisms for increasing the efficiency of translational neuroscience research through discussions about how and when to use animal models most effectively and then best approaches for the interpretation of the data collected. Specifically, the workshop objectives were to: discuss key issues that contribute to poor translation of animal models in nervous system disorders, examine case studies that highlight successes and failures in the development and application of animal models, consider strategies to increase the scientific rigor of preclinical efficacy testing, explore the benefits and challenges to developing standardized animal and behavioral models. Improving the Utility and Translation of Animal Models for Nervous System Disorders: Workshop Summary also identifies methods to facilitate development of corresponding animal and clinical endpoints, indentifies methods that would maximize bidirectional translation between basic and clinical research and determines the next steps that will be critical for improvement of the development and testing of animal models of disorders of the nervous system.

Improving and Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Nervous System Disorders is the summary of a workshop convened by the IOM Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders to examine opportunities to accelerate early phases of drug development for nervous system drug discovery. Workshop participants discussed challenges in neuroscience research for enabling faster entry of potential treatments into first-in-human trials, explored how new and emerging tools and technologies may improve the efficiency of research, and considered mechanisms to facilitate a more effective and efficient development pipeline. There are several challenges to the current drug development pipeline for nervous system disorders. The fundamental etiology and pathophysiology of many nervous system disorders are unknown and the brain is inaccessible to study, making it difficult to develop accurate models. Patient heterogeneity is high, disease pathology can occur years to decades before becoming clinically apparent, and diagnostic and treatment biomarkers are lacking. In addition, the lack of validated targets, limitations related to the predictive validity of animal models - the extent to which the model predicts clinical efficacy - and regulatory barriers can also impede translation and drug development for nervous system disorders. Improving and Accelerating Therapeutic Development for Nervous System Disorders identifies avenues for moving directly from cellular models to human trials, minimizing the need for animal models to test efficacy, and discusses the potential benefits and risks of such an approach. This report is a timely discussion of opportunities to improve early drug development with a focus toward preclinical trials.

Compared with other disease areas, central nervous system (CNS) disorders have had the highest failure rate for new compounds in advanced clinical trials. Most CNS drugs fail because of efficacy, and the core issue underlying these problems is a poor understanding of disease biology. Concern about the poor productivity in neuroscience drug development has gained intensity over the past decade, amplified by a retraction in investment from the pharmaceutical industry. This retreat by industry has been fueled by the high failure rate of compounds in advanced clinical trials for nervous system disorders. In response to the de-emphasis of CNS disorders in therapeutic development relative to other disease areas such as cancer, metabolism, and autoimmunity, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine initiated a series of workshops in 2012 to address the challenges that have slowed drug development for nervous system disorders. Motivated by the notion that advances in genetics and other new technologies are beginning to bring forth new molecular targets and identify new biomarkers, the Academies hosted the third workshop in this series in September 2016. Participants discussed opportunities to accelerate early stages of drug development for nervous system disorders in the absence of animal models that reflect disease and predict efficacy. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Handbook of Innovations in CNS Regenerative Medicine provides a comprehensive overview of the CNS regenerative medicine field. The book describes the basic biology and anatomy of the CNS and how injury and disease affect its balance and the limitations of the present therapies used in the clinics. It also introduces recent trends in different fields of CNS regenerative medicine, including cell transplantation, bio and neuro-engineering, molecular/pharmacotherapy therapies and enabling technologies. Finally, the book presents successful cases of translation of basic research to first-in-human trials and the steps needed to follow this path. Areas such as cell transplantation approaches, bio and neuro-engineering, molecular/pharmacotherapy therapies and enabling technologies are key in regenerative medicine are covered in the book, along with regulatory and ethical issues. - Describes the basic biology and anatomy of the CNS and how injury and disease affect its balance - Discusses the limitations of present therapies used in the clinics - Introduces the recent trends in different fields of CNS regenerative medicine, including cell transplantation, bio and neuro-engineering, molecular/pharmacotherapy therapies, and enabling technologies - Presents successful cases of translation of basic research to first-in-human trials, along with the steps needed to follow this path

With the loss of work days, the price of health care and payments for compensation, litigation, and malpractice, and the overwhelming cost of human suffering, chronic pain syndromes affect humanity enormously on both an economic and personal level. In Animal Models of Pain, expert investigators in the field provide a consolidated review of the current state of pain research by capturing the diversity of animal models that are used to investigate pain mechanisms, which range from surgical incision to mechanical compression and from spinal cord injury to cutaneous/local inflammation and beyond. As a volume in the respected Neuromethods series, this book delivers its vital content through detailed descriptions of a wide variety of step-by-step laboratory methods. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Animal Models of Pain seeks to lead scientists closer to the ultimate goal of improving the quality of life and relieving the unbearable burden of chronic pain for millions of people throughout the world.