Table 2

Scheme for clinical and ethical management of rhesus monkeys with collagen-induced arthritis

Disease score
Characteristics
Monitoring
Maximal durationa

0
No disease symptoms
Daily
Length of experiment
0.5
Fever (>0.5°C)
2 × per week
12 weeks
1
Apathy; lessened mobility; loss of appetite
Daily
10 weeks
2
Weight loss; warm extremitiesb; treatable pain without STS
2 × per weekc, or daily
6 weeks
3
Redness of joints (with STS)b; normal flexibility of extremities
2 × per week
4 weeks
4
Severe STS of joints (plus redness); joint stiffnessb
2 × per week
2 weeks
5
Untreatable pain; immobility of jointsb; weight loss >25%
2 × per weekc, or daily
18 hours

aThe duration of discomfort is calculated cumulatively. bCan be assessed only in the sedated monkey and therefore cannot be done more than twice a week for ethical reasons. cFor characteristics requiring sedation. STS, soft-tissue swelling.

Vierboom et al. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2005 7:145   doi:10.1186/ar1773