Diabetes mellitus

MAJORITIES:
All ALIVE being needs energy to be able to live. The MAMMALS (dog, cat, man, etc.) acquire that energy by means of foods. The diverse organs of the body (liver, stomach, intestine, páncreas) are in charge to disturb foods to obtain that energy. One of the missions of the páncreas is the insulin production.
The insulin is the hormone that is in charge of which the cells can take advantage of the ?energy? that the foods provide. This ?energy? is the glucose.

The páncreas of a diabetic animal are not able to produce insulin of an suitable way, reason why its body is incapable to assimilate that glucose that serves to us as ?energy?. But, what it happens with the glucose. Then this glucose happens to comprise of the sanguineous torrent of the diabetic, being produced in the long run diverse damages in the organism. The diabetes mellitus can classify in insulin employee (DMDI) or insulin nonemployee (DMNDI):

* The caracterizapor DMDI the lack of insulin secretion after the glucose administration, the necessity to deal with insulin and the tendency to develop cetoacidosis. The etiología is multifactorial with genetic and racial influence, inmunomediados factors, acute pancreatitis (infrequent), presence of amyloid substance in cells of small barren islands. This last one is frequent in the cat.
* The DMNDI is characterized by levels normal or increased of insulin, exaggerated secretion of insulin after the glucose administration and presence of obesity that causes a bad answer of the cells to the insulin. He is specially frequent in obese cats.

SYMPTOMS:
One appears in dogs, mainly adult (7-10 years), with greater incidence in females. The prearranged races more are the Pinscher miniature, Caniche, Teckel, dwarfed Schnauzer, Beagle, and little prearranged German Shepherd, Boxer, Collie and Pequinés. It affects cats of all the ages, mainly greater of 6 years, with greater predisposition in males. Frequent symptoms but (in veterinary medicine we say three P to him):

* Poliuria (it tinkles much)
* Polidipsia (it takes more water from the normal thing)
* Polifagia (it eats much)
*Otros:
Cetonuria: When not having the cells ?sufficient energy? provided by the glucose, it must resort to the energy that it obtains with the combustion of fats. The remainder of this energy is the cetónicos bodies that are eliminated by tinkles it. To this CETONURIA is called to him.
Thinning and fatigue: Although the diabetic eats more, the cells do not have sufficient energy, originating the mobilization of reserve energies and for that reason the thinning due to the high fat combustion takes place.
Cataracts: it is the most frequent in dog and very rare complication in the cat.
Diabetic Neuropatía: neurological alterations, are more frequent in the cat. Also it can have presence of hepatomegalia (increase of size of the liver) and signs associated to infection of tracto urinary (ITU) because the increase of sugar in blood prearranges to infections (the white globules cannot work well).

The symptoms in the serious and compensated cases but are not the dehydration, weakness, taquipnea, vomits, scent to acetone, hypotherm and comma.

I DIAGNOSE:
It is made by means of a exhautivo clinical examination and laboratory analysis that implies to measure the glucose in blood (as much in uninformed as after an ingestion and periodic dosajes to evaluate answer), analysis of tinkles (where it is moderate the glucose concentrations in the same one).

I FORETELL:
The prognosis is good in the noncomplicated diabetes and seizure in time, however reserved to serious in the complicated ones, resistant to the treatment and the those pictures that have complications such as they are it the cetoacidosis and the hiperadrenocorticismo.

TREATMENT:
The objective of the treatment is to reach a good metabolic control, that is to say, the suitable use of the glucose; of this form complications that in the long term can alter the quality of life, as much of the insulinodependiente diabetic as of the noninsulinodependiente one are avoided to a great extent.

The habitual treatment of the diabetes mellitus includes a series of measures:

* Dietetic regime
* Physical exercise
* Medication: Insulin (in some cases it is possible to be tried with oral hipoglucemiantes, respond plus the cats).
The insulin is a hormone that allows the glucose use (sugar), that is the main fuel of our organism. An animal with insulinodependiente diabetes cannot survive, for that reason the insulin must daily be injected.

Types of insulin
The insulin can be of bovine, pig and human origin.

Insulin	Action	Maximum effect	Duration
Current	Fast	2 to 4 hs	4 to 6 hs
NPH	Intermediate	6 to 14 hs.	18 to 24 hs.
Slow	Intermediate	8 to 14 hs.	18 to 24 hs.

Author: MV Adelaida A. Goldman
www.mascotia.com/oncologia
agoldman@mascotia.com

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