Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Metabolic differences linked to diabetes risk in Burmese, Maine coon
By Malin Öhlund et al.·Published in PLoS ONE·2021·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: Differences in metabolic profiles between the Burmese, the Maine coon and the Birman cat—Three breeds with varying risk for diabetes mellitus
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that Burmese cats have a higher risk of developing diabetes compared to Maine Coons and Birman cats. The researchers looked at the blood chemistry of 63 cats and discovered that Burmese cats had higher levels of insulin and certain metabolites linked to insulin resistance, which is similar to what is seen in people with type 2 diabetes. In contrast, Maine Coons showed a different metabolic profile with higher levels of specific amino acids, while Birman cats had unique levels of creatinine and taurine. Understanding these differences could help identify cats at risk for diabetes earlier.
People also search for: Burmese cat diabetes risk · Maine Coon blood test results · Birman cat health issues
Abstract
Feline diabetes mellitus shares many features with type 2 diabetes in people, regarding clinical presentation, physiology, and pathology. A breed predisposition for type 2 diabetes has been identified, with the Burmese breed at a fivefold increased risk of developing the condition compared to other purebred cats. We aimed to characterize the serum metabolome in cats (n = 63) using nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics, and to compare the metabolite pattern of Burmese cats with that of two cat breeds of medium or low risk of diabetes, the Maine coon (MCO) and Birman cat, respectively. Serum concentrations of adiponectin, insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 were also measured (n = 94). Burmese cats had higher insulin and lower adiponectin concentrations than MCO cats. Twenty one metabolites were discriminative between breeds using a multivariate statistical approach and 15 remained significant after adjustment for body weight and body condition score. Burmese cats had higher plasma levels of 2-hydroxybutyrate relative to MCO and Birman cats and increased concentrations of 2-oxoisocaproic acid, and tyrosine, and lower concentrations of dimethylglycine relative to MCO cats. The metabolic profile of MCO cats was characterized by high concentrations of arginine, asparagine, methionine, succinic acid and low levels of acetylcarnitine while Birman cats had the highest creatinine and the lowest taurine plasma levels, compared with MCO and Burmese. The pattern of metabolites in Burmese cats is similar to that in people with insulin resistance. In conclusion, the metabolic profile differed between healthy cats of three breeds. Detection of an abnormal metabolome might identify cats at risk of developing diabetes.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/33886598