Steinmetz Hanspeter W, Kaumanns Werner, Dix Illona, Heistermann Michael, Fox Mark, Kaup Franz-Josef
Division of Zoo Animals and Exotic Pets, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
J Med Primatol. 2006 Feb;35(1):3-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0684.2005.00141.x.
Previous studies have characterized alopecia in captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) by a mixed partial to complete alopecia in a bilateral symmetric pattern.
In this study, coat condition assessments were related to exogenous and endogenous factors in captive rhesus macaques under different housing conditions in order to identify disturbances in environmental factors controlling or influencing hair growth. Additionally, the degree of alopecia was investigated in relation to adrenal endocrine function as an indicator of social stress using faecal glucocorticoid measurements.
Hair loss was found to vary with season and sex, was most pronounced in adult females during the winter and spring months. Generally, infants were not affected, but alopecia developed during adolescence. However, the housing system, available enclosure space and variations in group size and composition also appeared to influence coat condition. Levels of immunoreactive cortisol metabolites (11-oxoetiocholanolone) in faeces were significantly negatively correlated with alopecia, suggesting a relationship between hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity and hair loss in captive rhesus macaques.
Although the present study demonstrates the influence of the HPA axis on coat condition, it is not known if hair loss is caused by abnormal behaviour or hormonal imbalances of the HPA axis itself. Our data suggest that alopecia in rhesus macaques is a highly complex multicausal disorder.
先前的研究已将圈养恒河猴（猕猴）的脱发特征描述为双侧对称模式的混合性部分至完全脱发。
在本研究中，将被毛状况评估与不同饲养条件下圈养恒河猴的外源性和内源性因素相关联，以确定控制或影响毛发生长的环境因素中的干扰因素。此外，使用粪便糖皮质激素测量，研究脱发程度与作为社会应激指标的肾上腺内分泌功能之间的关系。
发现脱发随季节和性别而变化，在成年雌性中在冬季和春季最为明显。一般来说，幼猴不受影响，但脱发在青春期出现。然而，饲养系统、可用的圈养空间以及群体大小和组成的变化似乎也会影响被毛状况。粪便中免疫反应性皮质醇代谢物（11-氧代雄甾烷醇）的水平与脱发显著负相关，表明下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴活性与圈养恒河猴脱发之间存在关联。
尽管本研究证明了HPA轴对被毛状况的影响，但尚不清楚脱发是由异常行为还是HPA轴本身的激素失衡引起的。我们的数据表明，恒河猴的脱发是一种高度复杂的多因素疾病。
