D-galactose-induced brain ageing model: A systematic review and meta-analysis on cognitive outcomes and oxidative stress indices

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 8; p. e0184122
• Main Authors: Sadigh-Eteghad, Saeed, Majdi, Alireza, McCann, Sarah K., Mahmoudi, Javad, Vafaee, Manouchehr S., Macleod, Malcolm R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 30.08.2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Age; Aging; Aging (Biology); Aging - drug effects; Animal cognition; Animal models; Animals; Apoptosis; Bias; Biological research; Biology and Life Sciences; Brain; Brain - drug effects; Brain - physiology; Brain research; Clinical trials; Cognition - drug effects; Cognition Disorders - chemically induced; Cognitive ability; D-Galactose; Drug development; Drug dosages; Drugs; Galactose; Galactose - adverse effects; Galactose - pharmacology; Health aspects; Heterogeneity; Humans; Medical research; Medicine and Health Sciences; Meta-analysis; Models, Animal; Neurogenesis; Neurosciences; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Physical Sciences; Quality; Research and Analysis Methods; Reviews; Risk reduction; Rodents; Stroke; Studies; Toxicology; Validity; United Kingdom > UK; Scotland; Edinburgh Scotland
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0184122

Animal models are commonly used in brain ageing research. Amongst these, models where rodents are exposed to d-galactose are held to recapitulate a number of features of ageing including neurobehavioral and neurochemical changes. However, results from animal studies are often inconsistent. To better understand the characteristics of the model and effects of d-galactose on neurobehavioral and neurochemical outcomes in rodents we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis. We applied random-effects meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of study features. Our results give an overview of the characteristics of the d-galactose rodent ageing model, including neurobehavioral and neurochemical outcomes. We found that few studies took measures to reduce risks of bias, and substantial heterogeneity in the reported effects of d-galactose in included studies. This highlights the need for improvements in the use of the d-galactose rodent ageing model if it is to provide useful in the development of drugs to treat human ageing.