[Guidelines on the appropriate use of animal models for developing therapies in multiple sclerosis].

INTRODUCTION: The advance in the achievement of effective therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS), the definition of appropriate therapeutic windows and to establish better diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers have become a challenging task for both researchers and clinicians. Some pitfalls in clinical trials might be related to lack of adequacy of the preclinical studies in MS experimental animal models. AIM: To standardize the methodological protocols of experimental models by developing a set of guidelines for preclinical studies by groups of experts from REEM (Spanish Network for MS). DEVELOPMENT: A guide with recommendations for the application of MS models including a detailed assessment of appropriate experimental models taking into account the objective of the study that has been presented. Standards and quality criteria necessary in a preclinical study have been included.
CONCLUSIONS: Standardized animal models of MS are essential to increase the success of the preclinical findings in order to transfer them to the clinical practice.