Deparmtent of Pathology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
Department of Pathology, Section on Comparative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC 27157, USA.
J Vet Sci. 2024 Sep;25(5):e60. doi: 10.4142/jvs.24080. Epub 2024 Aug 7.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly with the incidence rising exponentially after the age of 65 years. Unfortunately, effective treatments are extremely limited and definite diagnosis can only be made at autopsy. This is in part due to our limited understanding of the complex pathophysiology, including the various genetic, environmental, and metabolic contributing factors. In an effort to better understand this complex disease, researchers have employed nonhuman primates as translational models.
This report aims to describe the AD-like neuropathology in the brain of a 37-year-old female baboon (), which at the time of her death made her the oldest hamadryas baboon at any member institution of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. A diagnostic necropsy was performed, and the brain was evaluated for neurodegenerative disease. Frequent amyloid-β deposits were identified, consistent with what has been described in other geriatric nonhuman primates. Phospho-tau pathology, including neurofibrillary tangles, a feature not well-described in other primate models, was also abundant.
Our results suggest that more detailed, prospective, longitudinal studies are warranted utilizing this particular species to see if they represent a viable model for human brain aging.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）是老年人中最常见的痴呆症病因，发病率在 65 岁后呈指数级上升。不幸的是，有效的治疗方法极为有限，只有在尸检时才能做出明确诊断。这在一定程度上是由于我们对复杂的病理生理学的理解有限，包括各种遗传、环境和代谢因素。为了更好地理解这种复杂的疾病，研究人员将非人类灵长类动物作为转化模型。
本报告旨在描述一只 37 岁雌性狒狒（）大脑中的 AD 样神经病理学改变。该狒狒在死亡时是动物园和水族馆协会成员机构中最年长的哈马迪拉斯狒狒。进行了诊断性尸检，并对大脑进行了神经退行性疾病评估。发现了频繁的淀粉样蛋白-β沉积，与其他老年非人类灵长类动物中描述的情况一致。磷酸化 tau 病理学，包括神经纤维缠结，在其他灵长类动物模型中描述得并不充分，也很丰富。
我们的结果表明，利用这一特定物种进行更详细、前瞻性、纵向研究是有必要的，以观察它们是否代表人类大脑衰老的可行模型。
