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ATTEND TO DIABETES MELLITUS IN CANINES BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE

By Tess Thompson

As in humans, most of the diseases that affect canines result from genetic disposition, abnormalities, diseases, injury or parasitic or bacterial infections. Diabetes in dogs is similar to diabetes in cats or for that matter in humans.

The two forms of canine diabetes, diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus, are endocrinal diseases and are related to the endocrine glands or their secretions. Diabetes insipidus is a rare form of diabetes resulting from a deficiency of vasopressin (the pituitary hormone that regulates the kidneys) and is characterized by the chronic excretion of large amounts of pale dilute urine which results in dehydration and extreme thirst.

Diabetes mellitus, the more common of the two types, is a relative or absolute deficiency of insulin, the hormone that is critical for processing glucose in the body. This condition is further divided into two types - type 1 and type 2 and related to insulin in different ways. The former occurs due to insufficient production pf insulin and the latter occurs due to the inability of the cells to respond to insulin.

Pancreas produces insulin, which is responsible for controlling the concentration of glucose, the main fuel for energy. Normally, insulin controls glucose levels by ensuring that the liver does not produce excess glucose and that any excess sugar derived from the dog’s dietary intake is converted into glycogen that can be stored in the cells.

Diabetes mellitus is a condition where the pancreas is unable to produce sufficient insulin to manage these two functions. In such a condition, neither can the liver be stopped from producing glucose nor is the sugar required for energy stored.

Sometimes the cells in the body develop resistance to insulin and cannot accept the glucose and therefore fail to get the required energy to function properly. In both the conditions the extra glucose remains in the blood stream. High level of sugar in the blood eventually outstrips the capacity of the liver, which leads to the sugar slipping into urine.

This leads to a process called osmosis through which water is drawn into the bladder to bring the concentration of sugar in the urine down to a consistency that is easy to expel. This leads to two of the classical symptoms of diabetes in cats and dogs that are common with humans too.

With increased levels of sugar in the blood stream, increasingly high levels of glucose are spilled over into the urine, leading to polyuria, a renal disorder that is characterized by excessive urination. On the other hand the excess water that is drawn from the body gives rise to the dehydration in the body, which the body tries to compensate by sending signals of thirst. This leads to polydipsia, excessive thirst.

If not treated in time, diabetes mellitus in your dog can prove to be more problematic than just increased urination and thirst. The inability of the cells to receive the energizing glucose can lead to weight loss and organ failures. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that must be checked in its initial stages lest it leads to exercise intolerance, frequent infections and canine blindness.

References:
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/diabetes.html
http://www.caninediabetes.org/caninediabetespg.html