leuprolide and Monkey-Diseases

A 13-yr-old female nulliparous Allen's swamp monkey (Allenopitchecus nigroviridis) presented with intermittent excessive vaginal bleeding, cyclical lethargy, and a history of irregular menstrual cycles. Abdominal ultrasonography revealed a subjectively thickened, irregular endometrium, multiple leiomyomata (uterine fibroids), and bilateral anechoic foci on the ovaries. Treatment was initiated with leuprolide acetate i.m. monthly for 6 mo. Recheck ultrasound at 3 mo showed a decrease in leiomyoma diameter and no evidence of active follicles on the ovaries. Eleven months following completion of treatment, clinical signs recurred and the animal was treated with a deslorelin implant. Since implant placement, no vaginal bleeding has been noted.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; Cercopithecinae; Drug Implants; Endometriosis; Enzyme Inhibitors; Female; Leiomyoma; Leuprolide; Monkey Diseases; Triptorelin Pamoate

We attempted ovarian stimulation using gonadotropins in 14 chimpanzees. Subjects were given a single administration of leuprorelin acetate, followed by repeated administration of human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) for 16-21 days. During the dosing period, the ovarian follicle diameter and count were measured by transvaginal ultrasonography. The hormone administration induced the development of multiple follicles, and multiple oocytes were subsequently retrieved. However, the follicle count was decreased, suggesting atresia, in some subjects. Statistically, the final follicle diameter was dependent on the dosing duration and the hMG dose in the late stage, while the maximum follicle count during hMG administration was dependent on age and the hMG dose in the early stage. Five subjects showed mild ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS)-like symptoms with a high serum estradiol (E2) concentration. These results suggest that leuprorelin acetate plus hMG administration successfully stimulates the development of multiple ovarian follicles for oocyte retrieval and that the serum E2 concentration is predictive of OHSS-like symptoms in chimpanzees.

Topics: Animals; Estradiol; Female; Follicular Atresia; Humans; Kinetics; Leuprolide; Menotropins; Monkey Diseases; Oocytes; Ovarian Follicle; Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome; Ovulation Induction; Pan troglodytes; Progesterone; Superovulation; Ultrasonography

Leuprolide acetate in depot form (0.75 mg/kg body weight/month, i.m.) was administered to four female rhesus monkeys from 18-30 months of age, a period that includes the premenarchial growth spurt. They were compared to eight age matched controls. As anticipated, sexual maturation was blocked in the Leuprolide group and menarche did not occur. Growth was also severely retarded; no weight gain occurred during the study in the Leuprolide group as compared to a 25% weight gain (P = .044) in the control group. The Leuprolide group also lost muscle mass. Food intake normalized for body weight was not affected. Linear growth averaged 35% less in the Leuprolide group. Serum IGF-1 concentrations increased from 486 +/- 84 to 965 +/- 47 ng/mL (P = .0025) in the Leuprolide group and from 838 +/- 139 to 3,006 +/- 545 ng/mL (P = .0016) in the control group. These data suggest that premenarchial pituitary/gonadal suppression results in a distinctive pattern of growth retardation in monkeys.

Topics: Animals; Body Constitution; Body Mass Index; Delayed-Action Preparations; Female; Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; Growth Disorders; Hormones; Leuprolide; Macaca mulatta; Monkey Diseases; Sexual Maturation

Endometriosis was diagnosed in an aged dysmenorrheic rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) after biopsy of a 7 cm abdominal mass which could not be completely resected due to extensive adhesions. A 6-month course of treatment with leuprolide, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist, resulted in cessation of menstrual cycles and marked clinical improvement. Dysmenorrhea and hypovolemic shock occurred 2 months after therapy was completed. Despite supportive treatment and resumption of leuprolide, the primate's clinical deterioration and abdominal mass enlargement necessitated euthanasia. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a case of endometriosis in a rhesus macaque treated with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist. Although prolonged leuprolide therapy was clinically effective, its cost and the difficulty in early diagnosis of endometriosis may limit its use in nonhuman primate medicine.

Topics: Animals; Endometriosis; Female; Leuprolide; Macaca mulatta; Monkey Diseases