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Fernandes AG, Alexopoulos P, Burgos-Rodriguez A, Martinez MI, Ghassibi M, Leskov I, Brent LJN, Snyder-Mackler N, Danias J, Wollstein G, Higham JP, Melin AD. Age-Related Differences in Ocular Features of a Naturalistic Free-Ranging Population of Rhesus Macaques. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2023; 64:3. [PMID: 37261386 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.64.7.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) are the premier nonhuman primate model for studying human health and disease. We investigated if age was associated with clinically relevant ocular features in a large cohort of free-ranging rhesus macaques from Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. Methods We evaluated 120 rhesus macaques (73 males, 47 females) from 0 to 29 years old (mean ± SD: 12.6 ± 6.4) from September to December 2021. The ophthalmic evaluation included intraocular pressure (IOP) assessment, corneal pachymetry, biomicroscopy, A-scan biometry, automated refraction, and fundus photography after pupil dilation. The associations of age with the outcomes were investigated through multilevel mixed-effects models adjusted for sex and weight. Results On average, IOP, pachymetry, axial length, and automated refraction spherical equivalent were 18.37 ± 4.68 mmHg, 474.43 ± 32.21 µm, 19.49 ± 1.24 mm, and 0.30 ± 1.70 diopters (D), respectively. Age was significantly associated with pachymetry (β coefficient = -1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], -2.27 to -0.14; P = 0.026), axial length (β coefficient = 0.03; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.05; P = 0.002), and spherical equivalent (β coefficient = -0.12; 95% CI, -0.22 to -0.02; P = 0.015). No association was detected between age and IOP. The prevalence of cataracts in either eye was 10.83% (95% CI, 6.34-17.89) and was significantly associated with age (odds ratio [OR] = 1.20; 95% CI, 1.06-1.36; P = 0.004). Retinal drusen in either eye was observed in 15.00% (95% CI, 9.60-22.68) of animals, which was also significantly associated with age (OR = 1.14; 95% CI, 1.02-1.27; P = 0.020). Conclusions Rhesus macaques exhibit age-related ocular associations similar to those observed in human aging, including decreased corneal thickness, increased axial length, myopic shift, and higher prevalence of cataract and retinal drusen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arthur G Fernandes
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Palaiologos Alexopoulos
- Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York, United States
| | - Armando Burgos-Rodriguez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States
| | - Melween I Martinez
- Caribbean Primate Research Center, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
| | - Mark Ghassibi
- Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, United States
| | - Ilya Leskov
- Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, United States
| | - Lauren J N Brent
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Center for Research in Animal Behavior, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Noah Snyder-Mackler
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
- Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
| | - John Danias
- Department of Ophthalmology, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, New York, United States
| | - Gadi Wollstein
- Department of Ophthalmology, New York University Langone Health, New York, New York, United States
| | - James P Higham
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Department of Anthropology, New York University College of Arts & Science, New York, New York, United States
| | - Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Cayo Biobank Research Unit, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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