Table 2.
Differences between humans and apes in incidence or severity of medical conditionsa
|
Medical condition |
Humans |
Great apes |
|---|---|---|
| Definite | ||
| HIV progression to AIDS | Common | Very rare |
| Hepatitis B/C late complications | Moderate to severe | Mild |
| P. falciparum malaria | Susceptible | Resistant |
| Myocardial infarction | Common | Very rare |
| Endemic infectious retroviruses | Rare | Common |
| Influenza A symptomatology | Moderate to severe | Mild |
| Probable | ||
| Menopause | Universal | Rare? |
| Alzheimer's disease pathology | Complete | No neurofibrillary tangles |
| Epithelial cancers | Common | Rare? |
| Atherosclerotic strokes | Common | Rare? |
| Hydatiform molar pregnancy | Common | Rare? |
| Possible | ||
| Rheumatoid arthritis | Common | Rare? |
| Endometriosis | Common | Rare? |
| Toxemia of pregnancy | Common | Rare? |
| Early fetal wastage (aneuploidy) | Common | Rare? |
| Bronchial asthma | Common | Rare? |
| Autoimmune diseases | Common | Rare? |
| Major psychoses
|
Common
|
Rare?
|
-
↵a See Varki 2000; Olson and Varki 2003, and references therein. This list excludes disease states explained by anatomical differences, e.g., difficult labor, varicose veins, spine disorders, hemorrhoids, hernias, etc.
