Autoimmune encephalomyelitis and hemorrhagic retinal disease in neonatal, infant, juvenile, and adult monkeys.

Severe (24/24) and lethal (22/24) autoimmune encephalomyelitis was regularly induced in rhesus monkeys of all age groups from newborns to adults by a single injection of guinea pig spinal cord in complete Freund's adjuvant. Age dependency of the encephalomyelitis was manifested by a delayed onset and prolonged course in newborn monkeys. A hemorrhagic retinopathy usually accompanying the earliest CNS symptoms was observed in most of these monkeys. The most severe lesions were predominant in the cerebellum and brainstem of neonates, and in the cerebral hemispheres of older animals.