Neal Webb Sarah J, Bridges Jennifer P, Thiele Erica, Lambeth Susan P, Schapiro Steven J
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Michale E. Keeling Center for Comparative Medicine and Research, National Center for Chimpanzee Care, Bastrop, Texas.
Department of Experimental Medicine, The University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Am J Primatol. 2020 Mar;82(3):e23109. doi: 10.1002/ajp.23109. Epub 2020 Feb 20.
Due to advances in captive nonhuman primate (NHP) medical care, the number of geriatric chimpanzees (≥35-years old) is growing. With old age comes a variety of physical conditions, including arthritis, stroke, and mobility impairments. Programs aimed at enhancing the welfare of geriatric chimpanzees are now quite common, but there are few published empirical evaluations of the efficacy of such programs. The current study aimed to create, implement, and evaluate the effects of participation in a physical therapy (PT) program on physical health, mobility, welfare, and behavior. Nine chimpanzees with mobility impairments participated in personalized PT routines (using positive reinforcement training) twice per week for 5 months. Additionally, nine control chimpanzees (non-mobility-impaired, matched with PT chimpanzees on age and gender) participated in body exam behavior sessions (also using positive reinforcement training) twice per week. All chimpanzees were rated on 14 health, well-being, and behavior items, as well as level of mobility throughout the PT program. Chimpanzees that participated in the PT program showed significant increases in ratings of physical health, well-being, and activity levels across phases of the program. Furthermore, compared to control chimpanzees, PT chimpanzees showed significant increases in ratings of ease of movement. Because raters were not blind to physical therapy treatment, our results represent an initial evaluation of the program that may suggest that participation in the PT program has physical, behavioral, and welfare benefits. Assessments of novel geriatric-focused care strategies and programs are essential to further enhance the welfare of the captive chimpanzee population, which is currently comprised of many geriatric animals, whose proportion of the captive population will only increase.
由于圈养非人灵长类动物（NHP）医疗护理的进步，老年黑猩猩（≥35岁）的数量正在增加。随着年龄增长会出现各种身体状况，包括关节炎、中风和行动障碍。旨在提高老年黑猩猩福利的项目现在相当普遍，但很少有已发表的关于此类项目效果的实证评估。当前的研究旨在创建、实施并评估参与物理治疗（PT）项目对身体健康、行动能力、福利和行为的影响。九只行动不便的黑猩猩每周参加两次个性化的PT训练（采用正强化训练），持续5个月。此外，九只对照黑猩猩（行动无障碍，在年龄和性别上与接受PT治疗的黑猩猩匹配）每周参加两次身体检查行为课程（同样采用正强化训练）。在整个PT项目过程中，对所有黑猩猩在14项健康、幸福和行为项目以及行动能力水平方面进行评分。参与PT项目的黑猩猩在项目各阶段的身体健康、幸福和活动水平评分上有显著提高。此外，与对照黑猩猩相比，接受PT治疗的黑猩猩在行动轻松程度评分上有显著提高。由于评分者并非对物理治疗不知情，我们的结果代表了对该项目的初步评估，这可能表明参与PT项目对身体、行为和福利有益。评估针对老年动物的新型护理策略和项目对于进一步提高圈养黑猩猩群体的福利至关重要，目前该群体中有许多老年动物，其在圈养群体中的比例只会增加。
