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Diabetes mellitus in Macaca mulatta rhesus monkeys is preceded by phases of obesity and hyperinsulinaemia and is similar to Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus in man. To relate the progression of the disease to quantitative changes in islet morphology, post-mortem pancreatic tissue from 26 monkeys was examined. Four groups of animals were studied: group I — young, lean and normal (n=3); group II — older (>10 years), lean and obese, normoglycaemic (n=9); group III — normoglycaemic and hyperinsulinaemic (n=6); group IV — diabetic (n=8). Areas of islet amyloid, beta cells and islets were measured on stained histological sections. Islet size was larger in animals from groups III (p<0.01) and IV (p<0.0001) compared to groups I and II. The mean beta-cell area per islet in Μm² was increased in group III (p<0.05) and reduced in group IV (p<0.001) compared to groups I and II. Mean beta …