Modeling human arthritic diseases in nonhuman primates

Table 2 Scheme for clinical and ethical management of rhesus monkeys with collagen-induced arthritis

Disease score	Characteristics	Monitoring	Maximal duration^a
0	No disease symptoms	Daily	Length of experiment
0.5	Fever (>0.5°C)	2 × per week	12 weeks
1	Apathy; lessened mobility; loss of appetite	Daily	10 weeks
2	Weight loss; warm extremities^b; treatable pain without STS	2 × per week^c, or daily	6 weeks
3	Redness of joints (with STS)^b; normal flexibility of extremities	2 × per week	4 weeks
4	Severe STS of joints (plus redness); joint stiffness^b	2 × per week	2 weeks
5	Untreatable pain; immobility of joints^b; weight loss >25%	2 × per week^c, or daily	18 hours

^aThe duration of discomfort is calculated cumulatively. ^bCan be assessed only in the sedated monkey and therefore cannot be done more than twice a week for ethical reasons. ^cFor characteristics requiring sedation. STS, soft-tissue swelling.

ISSN: 1478-6362