Papers of the Week

Animal models for preclinical research of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are widely used as much of the pathophysiology remains unknown. However, the burden of these models inflicted on the animals is not well characterized. The European directive requires severity assessment-based allocation to categories. Up to now the classification into predefined categories is rather subjective and often without underlying scientific knowledge. We therefore aimed at assessing the burden of rats after SAH or the corresponding sham surgery to provide a scientific assessment.