MIASCI

Although many millions of dollars have been spent on research related to spinal cord injury over the past 20 years there are no reliable treatments to improve regeneration. Scientists in this area have made substantial efforts to standardize experimental methodologies. For example, consortiums have developed standardized reporting systems for human SCI studies (Biering-Sorensen et al., 2011), standardized injury devices, such as the NYU impactor (Young, 2002), and standardized outcome measures, such as the BBB Locomotor Rating Scale to quantify recovery of movement after SCI in rats (Basso et al., 1995). “Minimum Information for Biological and Biomedical Investigations” (MIBBI) facilitate communicating methods and results (Taylor et al., 2008). Developing standards for “Minimum Information About a Spinal Cord Injury Experiment” (MIASCI) would facilitate bioinformatic efforts and allow investigators to more accurately replicate and extend studies.