Dogs And Cats Get Diabetes Too

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Did you know that dogs and cats can suffer from diabetes mellitus just like humans? By administering a simple blood test, called fructosamine, the diabetes can be diagnosed, and under the care of your veterinarian, this disease can often be treated successfully. Fructosamines are stable complexes of carbohydrates and proteins that are produced by an irreversible, nonenzymatic glycosylation of serum proteins. Fructosamine (glycated serum protein) measurements are often useful in diagnosing and monitoring diabetes mellitus in both dogs and cats.

Dogs And Cats Get Diabetes Too

The test is highly accurate and can be used to distinguish non-diabetic transiently hyperglycemic cats from diabetics with chronic hyperglycemia. Just a single measurement of fructosamine will indicate the average glucose concentration over the previous 1-3 weeks and its assay can therefore be used to assist in the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus as well as monitoring the effectiveness of insulin treatments and therapy in diabetic animals. Fructosamine values are not influenced by fluctuations in blood glucose making them more accurate and useful than single glucose measurements which are normally taken from stressed or anorexic pets on glucose containing IV fluids. In some cases they can be used in conjunction with serial glucose curves to assess the short and long term response to insulin therapy. Please contact your veterinary surgeon for further details or if you have any concerns about your pets.

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