Purpose

To assess age-related changes in the rhesus macaque eye and evaluate them to corresponding human age-related eye disease.

Methods

Data from eye exams and imaging tests including intraocular pressure (IOP), lens thickness, axial length, and retinal optical coherence tomography (OCT) images were evaluated from 142 individuals and statistically analyzed for age-related changes. Quantitative autofluorescence (qAF) was measured as was the presence of macular lesions as related to age.

Results

Ages of the 142 rhesus macaques ranged from 0.7 to 29 years (mean = 16.4 years, stdev = 7.5 years). Anterior segment measurements such as IOP, lens thickness, and axial length were acquired. Advanced retinal imaging in the form of optical coherence tomography and qAF were obtained. Quantitative assessments were made and variations by age groups were analyzed to compare with established age-related changes in human eyes. Quantitative analysis of data revealed age-related increase in intraocular pressure (0.165 mm Hg per increase in year of age), ocular biometry (lens thickness 7.2 μm per increase in year of age; and axial length 52.8 μm per increase in year of age), and presence of macular lesions. Age-related changes in thicknesses of retinal layers on OCT were observed and quantified, showing decreased thickness of the retinal ganglion cell layer and inner nuclear layer, and increased thickness of photoreceptor outer segment and choroidal layers. Age was correlated with increased qAF by 1.021 autofluorescence units per increase in year of age.

Conclusions

The rhesus macaque has age-related ocular changes similar to humans. IOP increases with age while retinal ganglion cell layer thickness decreases. Macular lesions develop in some aged animals. Our findings support the concept that rhesus macaques may be useful for the study of important age-related diseases such as glaucoma, macular diseases, and cone disorders, and for development of therapies for these diseases.

中文翻译：

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恒河猴眼睛的年龄相关变化

目的

评估恒河猴眼睛与年龄相关的变化，并将其与相应的人类年龄相关眼病进行评估。

方法

来自 142 名个体的眼科检查和成像测试数据，包括眼压 (IOP)、晶状体厚度、眼轴长度和视网膜光学相干断层扫描 (OCT) 图像，并对与年龄相关的变化进行了统计分析。测量定量自发荧光 (qAF) 以及与年龄相关的黄斑病变的存在。

结果

142 只恒河猴的年龄范围为 0.7 至 29 岁（平均值 = 16.4 岁，标准差 = 7.5 岁）。获取眼前节测量值，例如 IOP、晶状体厚度和眼轴长度。获得了光学相干断层扫描和 qAF 形式的高级视网膜成像。进行了定量评估，并分析了各年龄组的变化，以与人眼中已确定的与年龄相关的变化进行比较。数据的定量分析显示与年龄相关的眼内压增加（年龄每增加 1 岁 0.165 毫米汞柱）、眼部生物测定（晶状体厚度每增加 1 岁、晶状体厚度每增加 1 岁；眼轴长度每增加 1 岁 52.8 μm）和黄斑病变的存在。观察并量化 OCT 上视网膜层厚度的年龄相关变化，表现为视网膜神经节细胞层和内核层厚度减少，光感受器外段和脉络膜层厚度增加。年龄与 qAF 的增加相关，每增加 1.021 个自发荧光单位。

结论

恒河猴具有与人类相似的与年龄相关的眼部变化。眼压随着年龄的增长而增加，而视网膜神经节细胞层厚度减少。一些老年动物会出现黄斑病变。我们的研究结果支持这样的概念，即恒河猴可能有助于研究重要的与年龄相关的疾病，如青光眼、黄斑疾病和视锥细胞障碍，并有助于开发这些疾病的治疗方法。