Disease Found in OHSU Monkeys May Help Both Humans and Animals
An exciting front page headline in The Oregonian this morning about efforts to combat multiple sclerosis.
It’s a good example of how findings in animals and humans can often be cross-linked allowing for new treatments to be developed for one or both species.
The research project started with a mystery…a naturally-occurring disease found in a small number of ONPRC’s Japanese Macaque monkeys. The disease caused the animals to lose the loss of their limbs over time. Further investigating showed that the disease impacting these monkeys is a lot like MS.
The discovery opens the doorway for a better understanding of what causes MS and possible treatments.
If you are curious about the monkeys themselves, the animals involved in this research live in a large outdoor corral at ONPRC. Here’s a quick look at the monkeys having a Halloween pumpkin feast in October:
