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60 / Abstracts 78. BIOLOGIC DATA OF NON-HUMAN PRIMATES HELD IN CAPTIVITY C.T. Ribeiro, M.R. Andrade, V.F. Silva, E.M. Molinaro, M.B. Goncalves, M.A. Marques, P. Cabello, and J.P. Leite FIOCRUZ, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Avenida Brasil, 4365 - Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, 21045-900, Brazil The establishment of biologic data for animals bred for scientific purposes is cru- cial for dealing with a series of practical situations in animal management, including diagnosis and treatment of sick animals, improvement of therapies and experimenta- tion. With the intent to determine baseline biologic parameters for non-human pri- mates held in closed colonies, hematological and morphometric data of 262 clinically healthy rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), 82 cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) and 60 squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) were collected over a period of 5 years. Animals were separated according to sex and divided into five age groups. The hematological data were compared with those in the literature by Student's t test. Great discrepancies with significance levels of 95 to 99% were found between hematological data as compared with the consulted literature. These differences may be accentuated by environmental factors and by variations in analytical procedures. In the biometric studies, growth curves showed that the sexual dimorphism of rhesus monkeys appeared at an age of four years. In earlier ages, the differences between sexes could not be distinguished (a = 0.05). Sexual dimorphism in both squirrel mon- keys and cynomolgus occurred at an age of about 32 months. The biological data and growth curves presented in this paper could be useful for comparative purposes in studies using primates under similar conditions. 79. HEALTH MONITORING IN A CLOSED RHESUS MONKEY (MACACA MULATTA) COLONY M.R. Andrade1, J. Yee2, N. Lerche2, P. Barry2, A. Spinner2, J.P. Leite1, and J. Roberts2 1 California Regional Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis CA, USA; Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Avenida Brasil, 4365 - Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21045-900, Brazil 2 California Regional Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis CA, USA Epidemiological monitoring is a primary mechanism for evaluation of the health status of an animal colony. Microbiologic tests should be carried out on a routine basis to provide an assessment of colony health. A serological survey was performed on a closed colony of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) as a first step to producing SPF macaques. The animals were grouped according to their age and gender. Sera were evaluated by ELISA tests and confirmed by Western Blot for detecting antibodies against Simian Immunodeficiency Virus (SIV), Simian Retrovirus Virus type D (SRV/ D), Simian T-Limphotropic Virus (STLV), Herpes B Virus (BV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Measles (Ms) and Hepatitis A (HAV). In 272 samples, the seroprevalence (%) was as following: BV = 45, CMV = 95, HAV = 35, Ms = 0.7. No antibodies were detected against the simian retroviruses (SIV, SRV/D and STLV). The seroprevalence was found to vary by age for each virus demonstrating different epidemiological patterns for each agent. The finding that the colony was seronegative for the three tested retroviruses is important information for the development of an SPF colony. The seroprevalence in this colony is similar to other Primate Centers with defined health status. These re- sults emphasize the relevance of the health monitoring, in colony management and its Abstracts / 61 value in planning establishment of an SPF colony. Supported by CAPES and CRPRC (Base Grant RR00169). 80. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PRIMATOLOGISTS: 2001 S.J. Schapiro Department of Veterinary Sciences, UTMDACC, 650 Cool Water Dr., Bastrop, TX, 78602-9733, USA Every decade or so, the treasurer of the American Society of Primatologists (ASP) pub- lishes a report on the current membership characteristics of ASP. The first two such re- ports appeared in 1982 and 1993, respectively. Each year, when members join the American Society of Primatologists, they answer a series of questions designed to evaluate the compo- sition and interests of the Society. There were 775 ASP members in 2001; 457 full mem- bers, 237 student members, 24 retired members, and 59 source country primatologists receiving complimentary memberships (a combination of both full and student members). This represents a 15.7% increase in overall membership during the past decade. Over the years, the proportion of student (34.4%) and retired (3.1%) members has grown consider- ably, while the proportion of regular (62.5%) members has decreased correspondingly. Women now comprise 61% of the membership, an increase of almost 10% in the last decade. Recent changes in the assessment of annual dues have resulted in two important membership changes. First, 7.6% of current ASP members are source country primatologists receiving complimentary memberships in ASP AND complimentary subscriptions to the American Journal of Primatology (AJP). Secondly, mandatory subscription to AJP for full and student members in 2000 resulted in an immediate 8.7% decrease in membership. However, cur- rent membership trends suggest this loss in members will be recovered by 2002. 81. BEHAVIORAL AND CORTISOL RESPONSES OF RHESUS MONKEYS (MACACA MULATTA) TO IMPOSSIBLE TASKS A.L. Pouliot1, B.M. Kaufman1, M.D. Davenport2, C.K. Lutz1, S. Tiefenbacher1, J.S. Meyer2, and M.A. Novak1,2 1 Harvard Medical School, NERPRC, 1 Pine Hill Drive, Southborough, MA 01772, New England Regional Primate Research Center, 1 Pine Hill Drive, Behavioral Biology, Room 245, Southborough, MA, 01772-9102, USA 2 University of Massachusetts, Department of Psychology, Amherst, MA 01003 Impossible tasks can be used to evaluate how rhesus monkeys cope with challenging events. In this study, 16 rhesus monkeys were exposed to a task requiring the removal of a treat from a clear Plexiglas box. During the first two days, the opening of the box always faced the monkey allowing for easy treat retrieval (center trials). On the next two days, task difficulty was increased; center trials were interspersed with trials in which the opening faced the side (mixed trials). On the last day, subjects were exposed to an impossible version of the task in which the treat was visible but there was no opening to the box. Frequency of behaviors was recorded during each trial, and saliva was collected before and after each task type for subsequent cortisol assay. Disturbance behavior, in- cluding self-biting, threats, yawns, and cage shaking, was highest during the impossible trials, intermediate during the mixed trials, and lowest during the center trials. A similar pattern was noted for mean number of reaches. Cortisol levels decreased significantly during each task but did not vary as a function of task type. However, the change in cortisol was negatively correlated with the number of reaches on the impossible task (r = ­0.60, p < .02). Although task difficulty influences behavioral responses, its association with cortisol is less clear. Supported by NCRR Grants #RR11122 and #RR00168. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have shown that anterior pituitary function is affected by the ageing process. Little is known, however, about the effect acute diseases have on the anterior pituitary. Should they be associated with a disturbance of anterior pituitary hormone production, they might make anterior pituitary function tests difficult to interpret when they are most needed. To test this hypothesis, we studied the thyrotrophin (TSH) releasing hormone (TRH) test and basal plasma gonadotrophins, taken as indicators of anterior pituitary function and reserve, in 74 consecutive patients (49 women) mean age 82 +/- 5.1 suffering from acute diseases soon after admission to hospital. A total of 44 (30 women) were followed up and retested after 3 disease-free months following recovery and discharge home. Seventy-one age- and sex-matched healthy controls (47 women), mean age 82 +/- 5.0 living in the community were also studied. The mean peak TSH increment after TRH (mean delta max TSH) increased from 5.7 soon after admission, to 7.7 U/l at follow-up (P = 0.01). The mean plasma LH increased from 25 to 35 U/l in women (P = 0.0004) and from 9.7 to 14 U/l in men (P = 0.03). The mean plasma FSH increased from 21 to 25 U/l in women (P = 0.04) and from 7.5 to 9.4 U/l in men (P = 0.01). Controls had greater TSH responses to TRH and higher plasma gonadotrophins levels when compared with acute patients (LH women P = 0.17, for all other tests P < 0.05). We conclude that a transient reduction of anterior pituitary function is a common occurrence in patients over the age of 75 suffering from acute diseases. This has diagnostic relevance and therapeutic implications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A patient demonstrating the classical features of congenital erythropoietic porphyria is described and the suspected nature of the metabolic defect and some aspects of pathology in the skin and bone marrow are discussed. Investigations are reported, which failed to demonstrate an auto-immune basis for the haemolytic anaemia. Problems of dental treatment are reported. The various forms of treatment, tried both for the patient's light sensitivity and for her haemolytic anaemia, are described. It is concluded that no adequate form of treatment of the light sensitivity or of the haemolytic anaemia has been found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One hundred and fifty-nine patients attending a geriatric medical outpatient clinic were screened for depression using the geriatric depression scale (GDS) and brief assessment schedule depression cards (BASDEC). Twenty-two (13.8%) patients screened positive with one or other test, 13 (8.2%) being positive with both screening tests. There was a highly significant correlation between the two screening tests but the BASDEC instrument was quicker and easier to administer. Eighteen of 22 patients who screened as positive proved to have clinical depression. On subsequent re-testing of 17 of these patients 4-6 weeks later, eight were still positive, but nine patients were now negative and subjectively felt better. These findings suggest the possibility of a transient mood disturbance occurring in elderly patients akin to recurrent brief depression seen in younger subjects, and have implications for starting therapy in apparently depressed elderly people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]