Methods 15 lesions were created in the endocardium of 13 pigs using approved animal protocols. NGE IR-SSFP and T2-w black-blood (double IR-FSE) images were acquired in <60min after ablation. Then, Gd-DTPA (Magnevist, 0.2 mmol/kg) was injected and LGE images were acquired repeatedly over one hour. Gross pathology was used as the reference for lesion size measurements. Two regions were measured i...

Human adenoviruses have been studied extensively in cell culture and have been a model for studies in molecular, cellular, and medical biology. However, much less is known about adenovirus replication and pathogenesis in vivo in a permissive host because of the lack of an adequate animal model. Presently, the most frequently used permissive immunocompetent animal model for human adenovirus infe...

Current understanding of the complex process of wound repair is based on decades of study. Integral to this understanding has been the use of in vitro and in vivo models to uncover the key molecular players. Now that major wound processes are more fully understood, therapeutic strategies can be developed to manipulate wound repair. Particularly important areas for future research include develo...

The intervertebral disc is a complex structure responsible for flexibility, multi-axial motion, and load transmission throughout the spine. Importantly, degeneration of the intervertebral disc is thought to be an initiating factor for back pain. Due to a lack of understanding of the pathways that govern disc degeneration, there are currently no disease-modifying treatments to delay or prevent d...

In studies on animal models of human brain pathologies, three-dimensional reconstruction from histological sections is particularly useful when assessing the morphologic, functional and biochemical changes induced by pathology. It allows assessing lesion heterogeneity in planes different from the cutting plane and allows correlating the histology with images obtained in vivo, such as by means o...

In the adult organism, angiogenesis is restricted to a few physiological conditions. On the other hand, uncontrolled angiogenesis have often been associated to angiogenesis-dependent pathologies. A variety of animal models have been described to provide more quantitative analysis of in vivo angiogenesis and to characterize pro- and antiangiogenic molecules. However, it is still necessary to est...

Recent advances in our understanding of how the intestinal microbiome contributes to health and disease have generated great interest in developing strategies for modulating the abundance of microbes and/or their activity to improve overall human health and prevent pathologies such as osteoporosis. Bone is an organ that the gut has long been known to regulate through absorption of calcium, the ...

Fibrosis arises as part of a would-healing response that maintains organ structure and integrity following tissue damage but also contributes to a variety of human pathologies such as liver fibrosis. Liver fibrosis is an abnormal response of the liver to persistent injury with the excessive accumulation of collagenous extracellular matrices. Currently there is no effective treatment, and many p...

Angiogenesis is important for postnatal physiological processes including tissue neovascularization in response to an ischaemic injury. Conversely, uncontrolled inflammatory-driven angiogenesis can accelerate atherosclerotic plaque and tumour growth. Angiogenesis-associated diseases are highly prevalent globally, with cardiovascular-related disorders and cancer being the leading causes of morta...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Retinal degenerative diseases have immense socio-economic impact. Studying animal models that recapitulate human eye pathologies aids in understanding the pathogenesis of diseases and allows for the discovery of novel therapeutic strategies. Some non-mammalian species are known to have remarkable regenerative abilities and may provide the basis to develop strategies to stimula...