Neurodegenerative disease found in monkeys

Scientists have discovered a naturally occurring disease in monkeys that mimics a deadly childhood neurodegenerative disorder in people -- a finding that holds promise for developing new gene therapies to treat Batten disease. Scientists confirmed through genetic analysis that a small population of Japanese macaque monkeys carry a mutation in the CLN7 gene that causes one form of the disease. It's the only known model for the disease among non-human primates in the world.