Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood sugar swings in new diabetic cats treated with exenatide
By Krämer, Anna L et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2020·Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Glycemic variability in newly diagnosed diabetic cats treated with the glucagon-like peptide-1 analogue exenatide extended release.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 30 newly diagnosed diabetic cats were treated with a medication called exenatide extended release (EER) along with insulin and a low-carbohydrate diet to help manage their blood sugar levels. Over 16 weeks, the cats showed a significant reduction in blood sugar fluctuations, especially by weeks 6 and 10, compared to when they first started treatment. Those cats that achieved better control of their diabetes (remission) had even lower fluctuations in their blood sugar levels. This suggests that using EER in combination with insulin and a special diet could be beneficial for managing diabetes in cats.
People also search for: diabetic cat treatment · exenatide for cats · cat insulin therapy · low-carb diet for diabetic cats
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Glycemic variability (GV) is an indicator of glycemic control and can be evaluated by calculating the SD of blood glucose measurements. In humans with diabetes mellitus (DM), adding a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue to conventional therapy reduces GV. In diabetic cats, the influence of GLP-1 analogues on GV is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate GV in diabetic cats receiving the GLP-1 analogue exenatide extended release (EER) and insulin. ANIMALS: Thirty client-owned cats with newly diagnosed spontaneous DM. METHODS: Retrospective study. Blood glucose curves from a recent prospective placebo-controlled clinical trial generated 1, 3, 6, 10, and 16 weeks after starting therapy were retrospectively evaluated for GV. Cats received either EER (200 μg/kg) or 0.9% saline SC once weekly, insulin glargine and a low-carbohydrate diet. Mean blood glucose concentrations were calculated and GV was assessed by SD. Data were analyzed using nonparametric tests. RESULTS: In the EER group, GV (mean SD [95% confidence interval]) was lower at weeks 6 (1.69 mmol/L [0.9-2.48]; P = .02), 10 (1.14 mmol/L [0.66-1.62]; P = .002) and 16 (1.66 mmol/L [1.09-2.23]; P = .02) compared to week 1 (4.21 mmol/L [2.48-5.93]) and lower compared to placebo at week 6 (3.29 mmol/L [1.95-4.63]; P = .04) and week 10 (4.34 mmol/L [2.43-6.24]; P < .000). Cats achieving remission (1.21 mmol/L [0.23-2.19]) had lower GV compared to those without remission (2.96 mmol/L [1.97-3.96]; P = .01) at week 6. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The combination of EER, insulin, and a low-carbohydrate diet might be advantageous in the treatment of newly diagnosed diabetic cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33001499/