Table 1.

Spontaneous non‐human primate models of AD

Animal species	Rhesus macaques25, 26, 27	Stump‐tailed macaques30, 36	Mouse lemurs32, 37, 38	Common marmoset40, 41, 42	Cynomolgus monkeys44, 45, 46
Scientific name	Macaca mulattas	Macaca arctoides	Microcebus murinus	Callithrix jacchus	Macaca fascicularis
Body length	45‐64 cm	45‐70 cm	12‐13 cm	10‐12 cm	40‐65 cm
Weight	5‐12 kg	7‐12 kg	50‐100 g	80‐100 g	9 g
Lifespan	34‐40 years	>30 years	14 years	7‐11 years	35 years
Age considered as old	20 years old	24 years old	5 years old	7 years old	20 years old
Similarity to human AD
Neuropathology	Aβ deposits can be seen	Aβ deposits and accumulation of tau protein can be seen	Aβ deposits and accumulation of tau protein can be seen	Aβ deposits can be seen	Aβ deposits and accumulation of tau protein can be seen
Cognitive behaviors	Cognitive deficits	Partial cognitive deficits	Cognitive deficits	Cognitive deficits	Cognitive deficits
Differences from human AD
Human	Aβ is distributed in the hippocampus, amygdala, olfactory cortex, frontal cortex, temporal lobe and parietal lobe	Neuropathological changes with or without cognitive behavioral degeneration	Tau protein is accumulated in the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex	Aβ is distributed in the hippocampus, frontal cortex, temporal lobe and parietal lobe	Abnormally phosphorylated tau protein is positive
Animal	Larger quantities of Aβ deposits in the limbic cortex and in frontal areas, little in the hippocampus	Only significant neuropathological changes with cognitive behavioral degeneration; slight cognitive changes without obvious neuropathological changes	Tau protein is accumulated in the cerebral cortex	Larger quantities distributed in the temporal cortex of the superior and inferior gyri	Abnormally phosphorylated tau protein is negative
Advantages of models39	Include natural pathogenesis Exhibit senile plaques and tau protein aggregations
Disadvantages of models	Normal aging is not the same process as AD Significant individual differences, long breeding cycle, small sample size