Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Inflammation linked to blood sugar control in diabetic cats
By Thalmeier, Sabine et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2026·Small Animal Clinic, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Association of inflammation with glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, and beta-cell function in diabetic cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 69 diabetic cats was studied to see how inflammation might affect their blood sugar control and insulin function. The cats were treated with long-acting insulin, and over six months, their blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity improved. However, the researchers found that inflammation markers did not predict how well the cats controlled their blood sugar. Instead, the function of insulin-producing cells was a key factor in maintaining good blood sugar levels. This suggests that managing insulin function is crucial for diabetic cats, rather than focusing solely on inflammation.
People also search for: diabetic cat blood sugar control · cat insulin treatment · inflammation in diabetic cats
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is an association between inflammation and glycemic control (GC), β-cell function (BCF), and insulin resistance (IR) in humans. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To assess the association between acute phase reaction (APR) (indicating inflammation) and markers reflecting GC, BCF, IR, and the presence of comorbidities in diabetic cats. ANIMALS: Serial serum samples from 69 diabetic cats, treated with long-acting insulin or long-acting insulin in combination with long-acting exenatide at a single study center from 2013 to 2018. METHODS: In this retrospective study, acute phase proteins (APPs), serum amyloid A (SAA), α-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), and haptoglobin (Hp) were measured. Quality of GC (based on fructosamine), BCF test results, IR measures, and the presence of comorbidities from 4 study visits (enrolment, months 1, 3, and 6) were included. Mixed effects modeling, principal component analysis, and χ2-test were used to assess associations. RESULTS: Glycemic control, BCF, and IR improved over the study period. There was no association between the quality of GC and the concentration of any of the 3 APPs (SAA: P = .35; AGP: P = .59; Hp: P = .1), nor an association between APR and fructosamine concentration (P = .35), BCF or IR measures (all P > .05). β-cell function was strongly associated with GC (P < .001; odds ratio 0.27; 95% CI, 0.14-0.51), but IR or APR were not. Acute phase reaction was not associated with comorbidities (P = .13). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Our data suggest that inflammatory state does not predict poor GC assessed by serum fructosamine concentration in diabetic cats, but BCF is an important determinant of GC.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41854429/