Survival rate and life span of rhesus monkeys at the Yerkes regional primate research center

Abstract

This paper describes the survival rates of 763 rhesus monkeys maintained at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center (YRPRC). The survival rates were determined by methods used to calculate survival rates of human populations. The monkeys were divided into 3 groups based on their specific life histories. Group I monkeys were wild-born and were housed singly from the time they came into captivity at about 2 years of age. Group I1 monkeys were born either in the wild or in captivity and were housed in social groups since their acquisition at ages 2 to 8 years. Group I11 monkeys were born at the YRPRC and housed in social groups. Due to these differences in life histories, direct comparisons among survival curves of the 3 groups are, at best, tenuous, as are comparisons with populations maintained at other facilities. In the present study the highest mortality rate occurred during the first month of life. The maximum life span attained in our group I was 35 years, with only 6.2% of monkeys in this group attaining an age beyond 30 years.

Neuronal and morphological bases of cognitive decline in aged rhesus monkeys

“…The maximal lifespan of a rhesus monkey is 35 to 40 years of age, and the average life span of captive rhesus monkeys is under 25 years (Tigges et al 1988). Although human age equivalence can be roughly estimated at 1:3 (Tigges et al 1988), the ratio is not uniform across every stage of development (Voytko and Tinkler 2004).…”

Age-related changes in human and non-human primate white matter: from myelination disturbances to cognitive decline

“…In this regard, the first question is to assess the life span of the rhesus monkey to establish some estimates of what might be thought of as equivalencies to humans in terms of the boundaries for young adults, middle-aged, and elderly subjects. Two studies are most pertinent here-one from the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (Tigges et al 1988) and the other from the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center (Dyke et al 1986). While these studies used different methods and assessed different cohorts, they generally agree on the following: rhesus monkeys can be considered young adults at between 4 and 5 years of age when they reach sexual maturity.…”

“…While these studies used different methods and assessed different cohorts, they generally agree on the following: rhesus monkeys can be considered young adults at between 4 and 5 years of age when they reach sexual maturity. At the other end of the spectrum, Tigges et al (1988) reported the maximal life span in captivity to be about 35 years of age while Dyke et al (1986) reported the maximum to be as much as 40 years of age. Taken together, the maximum ages of 35 or 40 likely correspond to the human maximum of 100 to 120 and overall suggest a relationship of approximately 1 to 3 for monkey to human years.…”

Candidate molecular pathways of white matter vulnerability in the brain of normal aging rhesus monkeys

“…This group consisted of 14 male and 13 female monkeys ranging in age from 4.4 to 30.4 years, effectively covering the entire adult life span (Tigges et al 1988). Monkeys were obtained from colonies of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center (Atlanta, GA) and Labs of Virginia (Yemassee, SC).…”

“…In contrast to these human studies where comparisons were with agematched controls, the present study compared young and old across the full adult age range from 4 to 30 years old and found a decrease in proBDNF. This age range equates to humans from about 12 to 90 years of age (a 1:3 age ratio with humans (Tigges et al 1988). Since BDNF is normally expressed in both neurons and glial cells, especially astrocytes and microglia (Elkabes et al 1996;Wu et al 2004), the exact source of the decreased expression is unknown.…”