Aging in the musculoskeletal system of rhesus monkeys: II. Degenerative joint disease

Abstract

In order to discuss the rate and onset of adult aging in rhesus monkeys, 55 adult animals from the Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center and the University of Wisconsin Psychology Primate Laboratory were examined. Degenerative joint disease (DJD) at the hip and spine was scored, and loss of passive joint mobility at the hip was measured. Development of DJD at both the hip and spine was significantly and positively correlated with age. Spinal changes, especially at the thoraco/lumbar intervertebral symphyses, appeared to develop somewhat more rapidly than hip degeneration. In some individuals, DJD was observed soon after the completion of growth, but pronounced changes seldom occurred before the middle of the second decade of life. Similarly, age-dependent losses of passive joint mobility appeared to begin early in ontogeny and to become increasingly pronounced in the aging adult. Although interspecific comparisons are difficult due to intraspecies and intraindividual variation, the timing of musculoskeletal aging in the rhesus spine and hip differs from that observed in humans in a way that parallels previously documented species differences in patterns of musculoskeletal growth. These observations and data on age-related change in other systems, suggest that rates and durations of many ontogenetic processes in rhesus monkeys are approximately three times as fast and one-third as long as those of the corresponding human processes. Importantly, differences in the timing of reproduction do not appear to follow the same scaling factor observed in other systems. Although reproduction may, therefore, be under separate control, the consistent pattern observed in other aspects of somatic growth and aging supports the hypothesis (Cutler, 1976; Sacher, 1978) that evolutionary changes in ontogeny have resulted from selection acting upon a few genes with widespread regulatory effects.

Intervertebral disc degeneration in a naturally occurring primate model: Radiographic and biomechanical evidence

“…13,39 Pioneering studies by de Rousseau 42,48 showed that rhesus macaques (M. mulatta) exhibited spinal osteophytosis and endplate degeneration. Pritzker and colleagues 49 proposed using rhesus macaques as a model of joint degeneration in humans.…”

“…Macaque spines are similar to those of humans, except that macaques have seven lumbar vertebra. Macaques, in general, age approximately 3-3.5 times the rate of humans, [40][41][42] so a 20-year-old macaque is comparable in age to a 60-70-year-old human. Such a naturally occurring disc degeneration model would facilitate our understanding of the initiation and progression of disc degeneration and attempts to regulate, ameliorate, or eliminate it.…”

A search for principles of disability using experimental impairment of Drosophila melanogaster

“…For example, the results of studies of wear-and-tear in insects are considered largely in the context of either aging theory [1][2][3] or age-determination technology [4][5][6][7], and only rarely in the context of fitness [8][9][10]. The literature on impairments in nonhuman vertebrates includes studies concerned with healed fractures [11,12], degenerative joint disease [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], broken teeth and horns [21][22][23], and either diversionary [24][25][26], compensatory [27,28], or infirmity-elicited [29,30] behaviors. But there are no papers in the ecology, behavior and evolution literature that attempt to either generalize concepts or unify the field.…”

Rain forests and movement ecology of neotropical primates

“…Also important in this area of study is an understanding of the internal mechanisms that make an organism's movement possible over time or distance (Bartoń 2012, Dingle 1996. For example, leg movements may sustain joints in ways that make similar body action possible over time (De Rousseau 1985, Lapvetelainen et al 2001, Roos & Dahlberg 2005, Salter et al 1980. As a primate maneuvers its body to address immediate challenges in the wild, stimulation of joint cartilage occurs in these tissues that adapt to tremendous loads without being damaged (Jurmain 2000 Macirowski et al 1994, MacLatchy 1996.…”