Table 1.

Characteristics of models for determination of glucocorticoid induced skin atrophy (modified after ref. 51)

	In vitro monolayer cell cultures	In vitro full-thickness skin models	In vivo models	In patients
Pro	Species: human and non-human Low time/labor/comound consumption High throughput Easy handling Low costs	Species: human Epidermal/skin thinning is measurable Easy to moderate handling Topical compound application Testing of formulations Interaction among different cell types	Rather reliable/predictive Epidermal/skin thinning is measurable Moderate handling Potential systemic side-effects measuable Topical compound application Testing of formulations Current gold standard (OFA hr/hr rat) Interaction among different tissues	Speciec: human Highly predictive Epidermal/skin thinning is measurable Topical compound application Testing of formulations Interaction among different tissues
Con	Cells are kept under non-physiological conditions Limited prediction Combination of different test systems may be needed Epidermal/skin thinning is not present Topical application of compounds not possible Testing of formulations not possible	High-priced models Moderate to high time/labor consumption Moderate compound consumtion Medium throughput at most Moderate to high costs	Species: non-human Moderate to high time/labor/compound consumtion Medium throughput Ethical aspects High costs	High hurdles before testing is possible (e.g., toxicological characterization) Ethical aspects (risk of irreversible effects) Low throughput High costs