ABSTRACT
The nonhuman primate rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatto) has long been of interest as an animal model of metabolic disorders. Almost 3 decades ago, Hamilton and associates (Hamilton et al., 1978) presented
findings showing evidence of diabetes mellitus in the rhesus monkey. Other hallmark studies documenting diabetes mellitus in individual rhesus monkeys include Kirk and colleagues (Kirk et al., 1972), DiGiacomo and associates (DiGiacomo et al., 1971), and Uno and co-workers (Uno et al., 1985). A number of comprehensive reviews have been published regarding diabetes mellitus in nonhuman primates (Howard, 1983; Howard and Yasuda, 1990; Hansen, 1992; Hansen, 1996), and Hansen and colleagues (Hansen et al., 1995); a summary listing of the primate species that have been identified to develop Type 2 diabetes mellitus is shown in Table 1. However, with the exception of the rhesus monkey, and the previous work of Howard and colleagues in the Macaca nigra primate (Howard, 1988), the reports have been limited.
