Diagnosis and treatment of degenerative joint disease in a captive male chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).

Degenerative joint disease (DJD), also known as osteoarthritis, has been well documented in aging populations of captive and free-ranging macaques; however, successful treatments for DJD in nonhuman primates have not been published. Published data on chimpanzees show little to no DJD present in the wild, and there are no published reports of DJD in captive chimpanzees. We report here the first documented case of DJD of both the right and left femorotibial joints in a captive male chimpanzee. Progression from minimal to moderate to severe osteoarthritis occurred in this animal over the course of 1 y. Treatment with chondroprotective supplements (that is, glucosamine chondroitin, polysulfated glycosaminoglycan) and intraarticular corticosteroid injections (that is, methylprednisolone, ketorolac), together with pain management (that is, celecoxib, tramadol, carprofen), resulted in increased activity levels and decreased clinical signs of disease. DJD has a considerable negative effect on quality of life among the human geriatric population and therefore is likely to be one of the most significant diseases that will affect the increasingly aged captive chimpanzee population. As this case study demonstrates, appropriate treatment can improve and extend quality of life dramatically in these animals. However, in cases of severe osteoarthritis cases, medication alone may be insufficient to increase stability, and surgical options should be explored.