Human Treatment Helps Pets Diabetes

Human drugs have long been used to treat the disease in animals, but now vets are using another human tool, the continuous glucose monitor, to develop treatments for dogs and cats, reports MSNBC. The monitor, which is surgically implanted under the skin, tracks the concentration of a sugar called glucose in the blood. As in humans, pets with high blood glucose levels experience extreme thirst, frequent urination and fatigue. Left untreated, high blood sugar can cause blindness and kidney failure.

With a continuous glucose monitor, doctors and their human patients can get a more detailed understanding of how insulin levels respond to drugs, meals and exercise. The same is true of pets.

"Continuous glucose monitoring, or CGM, is much more effective and accurate than previous glucose monitoring techniques and has revolutionized how veterinarians manage diabetes in dogs," veterinarian Amy DeClue of the University of Missouri-Columbia said in a statement. "The CGM gives us a complete view of what is happening in the animal in their natural setting. For example, it can show us if a pet's blood glucose changes when an owner gives treats, when the animal exercises or in response to insulin therapy."

Diabetes: Increasing problem for pets

Diagnoses of diabetes have been increasing recently for both cats and dogs, though no firm numbers are available for felines. A 2003 study published the Veterinary Journal found that dog diabetes cases comprised 19 of every 10,000 vet hospital admissions in 1970. By 1999, that number had jumped to 64 out of 10,000. However, fatalities from diabetes have dropped in that time period, plummeting from deaths in 37 percent of cases to deaths in only 5 percent of cases.

In cats, the disease is linked to obesity. Cats can get either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

In dogs, the version of diabetes looks like human Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes. Type 1 diabetes occurs when the pancreas fails to produce insulin. In Type 2, or adult-onset diabetes, the body may produce enough insulin, but the cells fail to recognize the hormone.

According to researchers, miniature poodles, miniature schnauzers, keeshonds, bichon frises, and Alaskan malamutes are most at risk for diabetes.