Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, Vol 53, Issue 1 M3-M7, Copyright © 1998 by The Gerontological Society of America
Profile of endometriosis in the aging female rhesus monkey
CL Coe, AM Lemieux, SE Rier, H Uno and ML Zimbric
Harlow Center for Biological Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53715, USA. [email protected]
BACKGROUND: A retrospective analysis was conducted on necropsy records from
a large rhesus monkey colony to evaluate the age-related prevalence of
endometriosis. METHODS: A total of 314 records collected over a 15-year
period were analyzed, yielding 66 monkeys with histologically verified
endometriosis and 248 control subjects. RESULTS: The analyses demonstrated
that the incidence of endometriosis increases progressively across the life
span, ultimately impacting 21- 45% of aged monkeys over 20 years of age.
CONCLUSIONS: Because mild disease is often not diagnosed premortem, the
endocrine and immune sequelae of endometriosis may be a potential confound
in even nonreproductive research with aging primates. Prior
research-related events influence the occurrence and severity of
endometriosis in these long-lived animals, and specifically could have
contributed to the high prevalence of endometriosis in this particular
monkey colony.
