Recognizing Signs Of Diabetes In Cats

Recognizing Signs of Diabetes in Cats

Cats can develop diabetes just as humans can, and the treatment and management of the condition are very similar. Treatment may include dietary changes, adequate exercise and insulin.
Feline diabetes mellitus is more common that most people realize. It is thought that the condition is becoming more prevalent in cats due to factors such as diet and low activity levels. Male, neutered cats are at increased risk, as are cats who are overweight or obese. Age and underlying health issues may also be components in the development of diabetes. Because cats often mask illness quite well, being aware of the signs of this disease is important.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes can be classified into two categories. Type 1, which is the less common of the two, results when there is a lack of insulin being generated by the pancreas. Type 2 occurs when the feline body develops a resistance to insulin. Both types lead to abnormally high levels of glucose in the blood and the urine.
Symptoms of diabetes
Early symptoms such as lethargy may be inconclusive and possibly indicators of other diseases, which is why a veterinary exam is an important part of getting a correct diagnosis and treatment.
The following symptoms may be strong indicators of diabetes:
Weight changes
Weight gain in the early stages of diabetes will eventually change to weight loss as the disease progresses.
Insulin, normally released by the pancreas, aids in the transfer of glucose to the cells. A lack of insulin, or an abnormal response to the insulin, affects the regular production of energy. When this energy is missing, the b Continue reading

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The Difference Between Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia

Diabetes is a condition which is known to elevate the levels of blood glucose levels in the body of the patient. But there are times when the level of blood glucose either becomes too high or too low. When the blood glucose is too high, the condition is called hyperglycemia and when it is low beyond a certain level, it is called hypoglycemia. In this article, we shall analyze and study the differences between the two conditions. So, join in for the article “The Difference Between Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia.”
Symptoms of Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia
Meaning of Hyperglycemia Versus Hypoglycemia
Let us first understand the difference in the meaning of the two terms:
Hyperglycemia refers to very high blood glucose levels in a diabetic patient. In fact, the level of fasting blood sugar is more than 126 mg per dl while the random blood glucose level is somewhat more than 200 mg per dl.
Hypoglycemia, on the other hand, refers to extremely low levels of blood glucose levels in a diabetes patient. In this case, the patient experiences a fasting blood glucose level of up to 126 mg per dl while the normal level of blood glucose is less than even 70 mg per dl. There are many other differences between the two terms which are explained as below:
Symptoms of Hypoglycemia and Hyperglycemia
Another difference in the two types of the condition is with reference to the signs and symptoms of the two. Following are the signs and symptoms of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia:
Warning Signs of Hyperglycemia
Following are the symptoms of high blood glucose levels:
Increase in fatigue and we Continue reading

'Alarming' rise in cancer rates driven by diabetes, obesity

New research crunches the numbers on diabetes- and obesity-related cancers and projects a steep rise in diagnosed cases.
Researchers at several institutions worldwide — including Imperial College London in the United Kingdom and the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Lyon, France — have recently established that cancers related to metabolic diseases, especially diabetes and obesity, have an increasingly high incidence.
According to the team's data, 5.6 percent of all cancer cases throughout the world in 2012 were linked to pre-existing diabetes and a high body mass index (BMI), which is defined as over 25 kilograms per square meter.
Of this total, 3.9 percent of cases were attributable to diabetes — almost twice as many cases as were related to a high BMI.
Lead study author Dr. Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard and colleagues also worked out the estimates for the probable incidence of cancers related to diabetes and other metabolic disease in the next few years, and their prognosis is not encouraging.
The researchers' study findings were published yesterday in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal.
Diabetes, high BMI increasingly dangerous
According to reports published last year in The Lancet, around 422 million adults worldwide live with diabetes, and 2.01 billion adults are overweight or obese.
These numbers are particularly concerning, since diabetes and obesity are established risk factors for many different types of cancer, such as colorectal and pancreatic cancer, as well as cancer of the liver and gallbladder, b Continue reading

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Diabetes pill might replace injection to control blood sugar

An injectable class of diabetes medication — called glucagon-like peptide-1 or GLP-1 — might one day be available in pill form, research suggests.
Based on the results of a global phase 2 clinical trial, the study authors reported a significant drop in blood sugar levels for people on the oral medication, and no significant increase in low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) compared to a placebo over six months.
The findings also showed that people taking the highest dose of the pill lost a large amount of weight — about 15 pounds — compared to a weight loss of fewer than 3 pounds for people on the inactive placebo pill.
The research was funded by Novo Nordisk, the company that makes the drug, called oral semaglutide.
"Semaglutide could transform diabetes treatment," said Dr. Robert Courgi, an endocrinologist at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, N.Y.
"Glucagon-like peptide receptor agonists are agents that are highly recommended according to diabetes guidelines, but rarely used because they require injection. Most patients prefer a pill," Courgi explained.
Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the clinical diabetes center at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, agreed that these new findings were exciting.
"This medication looks pretty good. The high dose matched the [injection] version. There was low hypoglycemia. It controls blood glucose. There was weight loss and it's not an injection. This is the same molecule that's been shown [as an injection] to decrease cardiovascular mortality," Zonszein said.
"It has all the ingredients for an excellent medication. If this Continue reading