猕猴和人类的衰老有许多类似之处，对这些猴子变老过程的进一步研究也许能加速以改善人类生命的质量和长短为目的的研究。一篇综述的作者指出，虽然猕猴以比人类衰老的速度快大约3倍，但是老年人类和衰老猕猴在生理和行为上有许多类似之处，包括近距离视力和骨密度的降低、精细动作能力的减退、以及腹部脂肪的增加。猕猴也可能具有类似阿尔茨海默氏症的症状，表现出人类衰老中具有的荷尔蒙变化，或是死于人类常见的与衰老有关的慢性病。作者写道，随着治疗帕金森症和其他与衰老有关的脑疾病的干细胞疗法的出现，猕猴也可能成为评估这些疗法成功与否的模式动物。
Aging in Rhesus Monkeys: Relevance to Human Health Interventions
Progress in gerontological research has been promoted through the use of numerous animal models, which have helped identify possible mechanisms of aging and age-related chronic diseases and evaluate possible interventions with potential relevance to human aging and disease. Further development of nonhuman primate models, particularly rhesus monkeys, could accelerate this progress, because their closer genetic relationship to humans produces a highly similar aging phenotype. Because the relatively long lives of primates increase the administrative and economic demands on research involving them, new emphasis has emerged on increasing the efficient use of these valuable resources through cooperative, interdisciplinary research.
Fig. 1. (A) A 19-year-old male rhesus monkey weighing 13.6 kg on the control diet. (B) A 19-year-old male rhesus monkey weighing 7.9 kg on CR for 17 years. Notably, the CR monkey generally appears smaller. (C) A 38-year-old (estimated age) male rhesus monkey weighing 6.8 kg on CR for 17 years. This monkey is one of three in the NIA study for which the exact birth date was unknown, but he first arrived at NIH in July 1968 with an estimated age of 4 to 8 years on the basis of body size and dentition. He was placed on CR in 1987. He died 18 April 2004 at a minimal estimated age of 40 years, but he could have been as old as 44 years, making him one of the oldest recorded of this species. This monkey had stooped posture, loss of hair, and wrinkled and sagging skin with broken blood vessels, and he exhibited arthritis, osteoporosis, and cataracts.
下载：
