Abstract
Purpose :
In order to provide an animal model for testing novel therapies of cataract, an investigation of spontaneously developed cataract was conducted in a senior Cynomolgus monkey colony with or without diabetes.
Methods :
The fasting serum glucose was tested around the time of ocular examination in 60 (56 male and 4 female) senior (age 11-27, 17.3±3.5 years, Mean±SD) Cynomolgus monkeys. Based on the serum glucose levels below or above 80 mg/dL, the subjects were divided into non-diabetic (69.6±7.6 mg/dL, n=31) and diabetic (200.4±85.9 mg/dL, n=29) groups. A thorough slit lamp microscopy was conducted bilaterally in sedated animal after pupil dilation. The incidence of spontaneous cataract was analyzed between the groups and among the age ranges. The relationship of diabetes and age was analyzed as well.
Results :
Spontaneous cataract was found in 77 of 120 eyes (64.2%) including 67, 4 and 6 eyes in early, medium, and mature stage, respectively. In addition, traumatic cataract was found in 3 eyes. Forty eyes appeared free of cataract. The incidence of spontaneous cataract was 52.2% (33 of 62 eyes) in non-diabetic and 75.9% (44 of 58 eyes) in diabetic subjects. The incidence of the disease in different age ranges of 11-15, 16-20 and 21-27 years was 37.5% (15 of 40 eyes), 73.4% (47 of 64 eyes) and 93.8% (15 of 16 eyes),respectively. The average age was 16.7±3.1 (11-25) years for non-diabetic group and 17.9±3.7 (11-27) years for diabetic group without statistically significant difference (t=0.175).
Conclusions :
The incidence of spontaneous cataract in senior Cynomolgus monkeys was positively associated with age and the level of serum glucose but not the body weight. The current study provided useful information of a spontaneous cataract monkey model and indicated the utility of this model in therapies of cataract.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.