VetSRev
Database of veterinary systematic reviews
Database of veterinary systematic reviews
Wound Repair and Regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair Society (2015) 23: 318–39
DOI: 10.1111/wrr.12290
As the elderly population grows, so do the clinical and socioeconomic burdens of non-healing cutaneous wounds, the majority of which are seen among persons over 60 years of age. Studies of how aging effects cutaneous wound healing have become a priority. Human studies will always be the gold standard, but studies have ethical and practical hurdles. Choosing an animal model is dictated by costs and animal lifespan that preclude large animal use. Here we review the current literature on how aging effects cutaneous wound healing in small animal models and, when possible, to compare healing across studies. Using a literature search of MEDLINE/PubMed databases, studies were limited to those that utilized full-thickness wounds and compared the wound-healing parameters of wound closure, re-epithelialization, granulation tissue fill, and tensile strength between young and aged cohorts. Overall, wound closure, re-epithelialization, and granulation tissue fill were delayed or decreased with aging across different strains of mice and rats. Aging in mice was associated with lower tensile strength early in the wound healing process, but greater tensile strength later in the wound healing process. Similarly, aging in rats was associated with lower tensile strength early in the wound healing process, but no significant tensile strength difference between young and old rats later in healing wounds. From studies in New Zealand White rabbits, we found that re-epithelialization and granulation tissue fill were delayed or decreased overall with aging. While similarities and differences in key wound healing parameters were noted between different strains and species, the comparability across the studies was highly questionable, highlighted by wide variability in experimental design and reporting. In future studies, standardized experimental design and reporting would help to establish comparable study groups, and advance the overall knowledge base, facilitating the translatability of animal data to the human clinical condition. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Kim, D. J., Mustoe, T., & Clark, R. A. (2015). Cutaneous wound healing in aging small mammals: A systematic review. Wound Repair and Regeneration : Official Publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the European Tissue Repair Society, 23(3), 318–339. https://doi.org/10.1111/wrr.12290 Rats, Mice