EARLY GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DATA OF THREE HIGH-RISK INFANT RHESUS MACAQUES (MACACA MULATTA) |
A. M. Dettmer1; L. A. Houser1; G. C. Ruppenthal1; L. C. Hewitson1; S. V. Capuano1; J. F. Watchko2 and G. P. Schatten1
1Pittsburgh Development Center, Pittsburgh Development Center at Magee-Womens Research Institute, 204 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA, 2Department of Pediatrics, Magee-Womens Research Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, USA |
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| Pre-term and low birth weight infants are at a higher risk of medical and developmental complications than normal infants. Three infant rhesus macaques (M. mulatta) were born and reared at the Pittsburgh Development Center, based on the methods of Ruppenthal & Sackett (1992). All infants required oxygen, subcutaneous fluids, and/or antibiotic treatments postpartum. Infant AB, conceived via intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), had a birthweight of 174g and was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Infants AC and AE, conceived naturally, were born 38 and 26 days pre-term, respectively. We compared early growth and development of neonatal reflexes and object permanence of AB to nine naturally conceived (NC) animals and six ICSI infants reared at the Infant Primate Research Laboratory in Seattle, WA. AC and AE were compared to the NC animals for all measures. One-sample t-tests examined differences in mean values for all measures. All infants differed from controls on growth curves and on at least 10/15 reflex measures (p<.05). For early object permanence testing, AB reached criterion at a later age than ICSI infants, and sooner than NCs on later stages. AC reached criterion sooner than NCs on two later stages, and AE on one (p<.05). Similar patterns were observed for test sessions to criterion. These data suggest that these high-risk infants show delayed sensorimotor development at birth but no difference on cognitive development. |
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