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17. Interpretation/ scientific implications Interpret the results, taking into account the study objectives and hypotheses, current theory, and other relevant studies in the literature. examples

17a Interpret the results, taking into account the study objectives and hypotheses, current theory, and other relevant studies in the literature.
17b Comment on the study limitations including potential sources of bias, limitations of the animal model, and imprecision associated with the results.
Explanation
Examples

Example 1

“This is in contrast to data provided by an ‘intra-renal IL-18 overexpression’ model (43), and may reflect an IL-18 concentration exceeding the physiologic range in the latter study.” [1]

Example 2

“The new apparatus shows potential for considerably reducing the number of animals used in memory tasks designed to detect potential amnesic properties of new drugs...approximately 43,000 animals have been used in these tasks in the past 5 years but with the application of the continual trials apparatus we estimate that this could have been reduced to 26,000…with the new paradigm the number of animals needed to obtain reliable results and maintain the statistical power of the tasks is greatly reduced.” [2]

Example 3

“In summary, our results show that IL-1Ra protects against brain injury and reduces neuroinflammation when administered peripherally to aged and comorbid animals at reperfusion or 3 hours later. These findings address concerns raised in a recent systematic review on IL-1Ra in stroke…and provide further supporting evidence for IL-1Ra as a lead candidate for the treatment of ischemic stroke.” [3]

  1. Schirmer B, Wedekind D, Glage S and Neumann D (2015). Deletion of IL-18 Expression Ameliorates Spontaneous Kidney Failure in MRLlpr Mice. PLOS ONE. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0140173
  2. Ameen-Ali KE, Eacott MJ and Easton A (2012). A new behavioural apparatus to reduce animal numbers in multiple types of spontaneous object recognition paradigms in rats. J Neurosci Methods. doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2012.08.006
  3. Pradillo JM, Denes A, Greenhalgh AD, Boutin H, Drake C, McColl BW, Barton E, Proctor SD, Russell JC, Rothwell NJ and Allan SM (2012). Delayed Administration of Interleukin-1 Receptor Antagonist Reduces Ischemic Brain Damage and Inflammation in Comorbid Rats. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. doi: 10.1038/jcbfm.2012.101