Assessments, Treatments and Modeling in Aging and Neurological Disease - Chapter 47: Nonhuman primates as models for aging and Alzheimer’s disease

Although rodents are the primary animal model used for biomedical research, neurological and evolutionary differences from humans have contributed to a high failure rate of Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials. Nonhuman primates are a viable model of aging and neurodegeneration and can help address this major concern. Aging in primates is associated with gene expression changes, volumetric atrophy, cerebrovascular dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and mild cognitive decline. Moreover, primates exhibit the pathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid-beta and tau lesions, in association with glial activation. In contrast, primates do not experience the extensive neuronal loss and dementia symptoms seen in Alzheimer’s disease patients. Understanding similarities and differences between humans and primates can contribute to a greater understanding of normal aging and neurodegenerative processes as well as improve the efficacy of models and therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease.