Poor memory performance in aged cynomolgus monkeys with hippocampal atrophy, depletion of amyloid beta 1-42 and accumulation of tau proteins in cerebrospinal fluid.

BACKGROUND Due to their similarities in behavior and disease pathology to humans, non-human primate models are desirable to complement small animals as models for the study of age-related dementia. MATERIALS AND METHODS Based on their performance on delayed response task (DRT) tests of memory, aged cynomolgus monkeys were divided into two groups to compare high-performing (n=6) and low-performing (n=6) subjects. Both groups were tested for biomarkers related to Alzheimer's disease and their brains were scanned using structural magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS The subjects with poor DRT performance had evidence of atrophy in the hippocampus and cortical areas, significantly lower cerebrospinal fluid levels of amyloid beta amino acid 1-42 (p<0.001) and higher cerebrospinal fluid total tau levels (p<0.05) compared to the group performing well on the DRT tests. CONCLUSION Old, memory-impaired Cynomolgus monkeys may be useful as a spontaneous non-human primate model for investigations of age-related neurodegenerative diseases.