Canine diabetes mellitus

摘要

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the more common endocrine diseases in dogs. In a population of 180,000 insured dogs from Sweden, the incidence was 13 cases per 10,000 dog-years (Fall et al, 2007). In another study of over 120,000 dogs from UK first-opinion practices, the prevalence of DM was 0.34 (Mattin et al, 2014). The disease is characterised by hyperglycaemia and glucosuria and it is these abnormalities that give rise to the majority of clinical signs. It is not a single disease but rather a heterogeneous group of disorders that arise because of insulin deficiency or reduced insulin sensitivity in target tissues, or both. In most dogs, regardless of underlying cause, DM is associated with hypoinsulinaemia with an absolute requirement for exogenous insulin treatment to avoid ketoacidosis and death. The prognosis is favourable, with the highest mortality occurring during the first six months and a median survival time between two and three years thereafter (Fall et al, 2007).