Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Safety and effectiveness of insulin and GLP-1 drug for cat diabetes
By M. Scuderi et al.·Published in Domestic Animal Endocrinology·2018·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: Safety and efficacy assessment of a GLP-1 mimetic: insulin glargine combination for treatment of feline diabetes mellitus.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with diabetes was treated with a combination of insulin and a medication called exenatide, which mimics a hormone that helps control blood sugar. This treatment was well tolerated, with only a couple of cats needing a lower dose due to side effects. Remarkably, two cats went into diabetic remission while on this treatment, which means they no longer needed insulin. Additionally, the cats lost more weight and required less insulin compared to those receiving a placebo. This combination therapy could be a promising option for overweight diabetic cats.
People also search for: cat diabetes treatment · insulin and exenatide for cats · diabetic cat remission · weight loss in diabetic cats · feline diabetes management
Abstract
A commonly used therapeutic strategy for type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in humans involves the use of synthetic incretin hormone-based therapies including exenatide, a glucagon-like pepetide-1 hormone agonist. Glucagon-like pepetide-1 agonists can be used alone or as an ancillary therapy with other agents, including insulin and oral antihyperglycemics. Little is known about the role of these therapies for DM in cats. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of short-acting exenatide combined with insulin, as compared to placebo and insulin for the treatment of DM in cats. Treatment with exenatide was well tolerated; only 2 cats developed side effects requiring dose reduction. Two cats (25%) went into diabetic remission while receiving exenatide and insulin, whereas remission was not reported during placebo treatment. The average change in the daily exogenous insulin dose was significant (β = -0.56 U/kg, 95% confidence interval, -0.96 to -0.15, P = 0.007), and the dose of insulin administered was lower during exenatide treatment. The average weight loss experienced on exenatide was significantly higher than on placebo (β = 0.65 kg, 95% confidence interval, 0.09-1.21, P = 0.02). There was no significant difference in any of the hormone concentrations evaluated for cats on exenatide vs placebo treatments. Overall, the treatment of diabetic cats with insulin and a fixed dose of exenatide was found to be safe. The weight loss and decreased exogenous insulin requirement experienced with exenatide treatment could be a significant benefit for overweight diabetic cats and warrants further evaluation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/30015124