Nursery-reared primates do not experience psychological "maternal bonding" or immunological benefits of breast milk, so they are expected to be inferior to mother-raised monkeys in growth, health, survival, reproduction, and maternal abilities. Studies of nursery-reared monkeys support aspects of this prediction for infants deprived of social contact or raised in pairs. We present colony record data on 1,187 mother and 506 nursery-raised monkeys, 2-10 yr of age, living in mixed groups. We found no group differences in survival, growth, clinical treatments for disease or bite wounds, or pregnancy outcome and neonatal deaths. Nursery males given breeding opportunities produced an average of 24 offspring. In addition to 24-hr personnel present on every day of the year, we believe that three of our procedures account for differences between our results and other reports. Our infants received 1) intensive human handling, 2) daily social interaction in a playroom, and 3) success and failure experience during learning and cognitive testing. We do not advocate rearing primates without mothers, but we conclude that these procedures are sufficient for producing physical health and adaptive juvenile and adult social skills in nursery-raised monkeys.

Histologic study of the thymus glands from patients who have died of AIDS reveals changes consistent with an organ-specific immune complex attack by polyclonal immunoglobulins directed against the thymic epithelial cells, Hassall's corpuscles, and certain subsets of thymocytes. This results in marked architectural alteration: there is eventual disappearance of the corpuscles, the epithelial cells become spindled with pyknotic nuclei, there is thymocyte depletion and patchy fibrosis, and there is loss of the normal corticomedullary demarcation. These changes are characteristic and are not found in the normal aging process of the thymus gland. The blood levels of thymic peptides are abnormal. There appears to be specific immunoglobulins directed against thymic epithelial cells, Hassall's corpuscles, and certain subsets of T lymphocytes. The end result appears to be both a histologic and functional thymic disorder. If this is correct, then appropriate therapy for AIDS may be thymic peptide replacement or even thymic transplantation.

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The purpose of this study was to describe the mortality and fertility rates before, during, and after the move and social reorganization of the Washington Regional Primate Research Center's pigtailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) and baboon (Papio cynocephalus, Papio anubis, and hybrids) breeding colonies from the Primate Field Station (PFS) (Medical Lake, WA) to the Tulane Regional Primate Research Center (Covington, LA). Colony records on all 598 pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) and 157 baboons (P. c. anubis) shipped to the Tulane Primate Center from the PFS breeding colony were used for analysis of species, sex, age, origin, current status, and the number of animals born at Tulane and their status. To provide comparative statistics, colony records on all 1,002 macaques and 258 baboons alive on 1 January 1991 at the Field Station were retrieved in the same manner as the Tulane data. Overall survival rates of macaques in the months following the move (71.7%) were similar to those associated with the Arashiyama West colony move from Japan to Texas. In our colony, significantly lower survival following the move was seen only in older (10 years+) macaques, while survival in other age groups was slightly lower than in the comparison year of 1991 at the Primate Field Station. Captive‐bred macaques exhibited higher survival than wild‐caught animals. Infant survival at Tulane was not significantly different than in pre‐move years. Baboons fared well in the move, with no significant differences in mortality or reproduction when compared with the 1991 Medical Lake baboon colony. Am. J. Primatol. 50:131–138, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Nursery-reared primates do not experience psychological "maternal bonding" or immunological benefits of breast milk, so they are expected to be inferior to mother-raised monkeys in growth, health, survival, reproduction, and maternal abilities. Studies of nursery-reared monkeys support aspects of this prediction for infants deprived of social contact or raised in pairs. We present colony record data on 1,187 mother and 506 nursery-raised monkeys, 2-10 yr of age, living in mixed groups. We found no group differences in survival, growth, clinical treatments for disease or bite wounds, or pregnancy outcome and neonatal deaths. Nursery males given breeding opportunities produced an average of 24 offspring. In addition to 24-hr personnel present on every day of the year, we believe that three of our procedures account for differences between our results and other reports. Our infants received 1) intensive human handling, 2) daily social interaction in a playroom, and 3) success and failure experience during learning and cognitive testing. We do not advocate rearing primates without mothers, but we conclude that these procedures are sufficient for producing physical health and adaptive juvenile and adult social skills in nursery-raised monkeys.