A model for therapeutic interventins on established coronary atherosclerosis in a nonhuman primate.

The observations so far conducted in cynomologus monkeys on semipurified diets containing butter and cholesterol suggest that this nonhuman primate is an excellent model for studying the therapy of established coronary atherosclerosis. (1) This species is available at a reasonable cost and can be kept in captivity in good health for prolonged periods of time. (2) It readily accepts semipurified diets with a percentage composition similar to that of human diets in the U.S. (3) Ingestion of these diets leads quite rapidly (around 6 months) to moderate coronary atherosclerosis. More prolonged feeding leads to lesions which are histologically very similar to those in man. (4) The distribution of lesions in the main coronary arteries is similar to that in man. (5) Methods to quantify the coronary lesions are available. (6) The diets can be so modified that cholesterol levels closely resemble those in hypercholesterolemic man. (7) The monkeys are amenable to several therapeutic regimens which show promise of arresting the progress or inducing the regression of the coronary lesions.