Current advances in in vitro models of central nervous system trauma

Central nervous system (CNS) trauma is a prominent cause of mortality and morbidity, and although much effort has focused on developing treatments for CNS trauma–related pathologies, little progress has been made. Preclinical models of traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury suffer from significant drawbacks, which result in substantial failures during clinical translation of promising preclinical therapies. Here, we review recent advances made in the development of in vitro models of CNS trauma, the promises and drawbacks of current in vitro CNS injury models, and the attributes necessary for future models to accurately mimic the trauma microenvironment and facilitate CNS trauma drug discovery. The goal is to provide insight into the development of future CNS injury models and to aid researchers in selecting effective models for preclinical research of trauma therapeutics.