Our human health awareness, increasing; The means of diagnosis and treatment of diseases are constantly being updated. But all these advances seem to defy disease. Take diabetes, for example. The incidence continues to rise, and about 50 percent of adults are pre-diabetic. People may sometimes look at their pets and wonder why their lot is less happy than that of their animals. So, the question is, do animals get diabetes? Does the phenomenon of diabetes in animals have any implications for us humans? Let’s combine history and recent scientific research to give you the answer.
Let’s start with a brief history of diabetes research. Diabetes mellitus, the term was used around 250 BC; In 400 BC, the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon recorded the quenching of thirst, because the symptoms of diabetics seemed to be caused by hunger and thirst. Diabetes, which appears in the medical literature, was first recorded in 1425. Then in 1776, it was discovered that the urine of people with diabetes might contain something like brown sugar. At the time when science was still in a state of chaos, the treatment of diabetes was also full of tricks. For example, patients have been advised to exercise on horseback to reduce urination.
Humanity’s understanding of diabetes, on the right track, is, in fact, related to animals. In 1889, researchers discovered the link between the pancreas and diabetes. They tested dogs. When the pancreas was taken out, dogs would show symptoms of diabetes. In 1910, scholars further established that diabetes was caused by a lack of insulin. At that time, a variety of diabetes diets were also emerging, mainly based on oats, milk, potatoes, and opium. In 1921 Dr Banting, using extracts from the pancreas of healthy dogs, reversed the symptoms of diabetes in dogs and found that acidifying alcohol inhibited the activity of trypsin. Using this method to treat extracts from the pancreas of animals, a higher purity of insulin was obtained. In January 1922, a 14-year-old boy was treated with insulin for the first time, and his blood sugar and urine sugar levels were successfully controlled. Dogs are credited with saving people with diabetes.
Scientists will not only use animals for disease research, but will also explore the relationship between animals and human diseases. In December 2020, researchers from Sweden and the UK published a paper in the British Medical Journal. The study looked at 130,000 pet dogs and 80,000 cats and their owners in Sweden. Health data on the pets and their owners were obtained during a six-year follow-up period.
The study found that there was an interaction between diabetes in dogs and their owners. If a dog has diabetes, the owner’s risk increases, and vice versa. Specifically, dogs with diabetes owners had a 28 percent increased risk of diabetes; If a dog has diabetes, the owner’s risk of developing the disease increases by 38%. Interestingly, there is no such interaction between pet cats and their owners. The researchers believe the phenomenon has to do with lifestyle. For example, if the owner is not active, he may be too lazy to walk the dog and become a homebody. After eating, he will lie down and stare at the dog, waiting for his blood sugar to rise. As for the lack of interaction between cats and their owners, it may be related to the cats’ habit of autonomous activity.
Whether an animal gets diabetes or not is also related to its own unique metabolic mechanism. In December 2020, a paper was published online in the Cell series Metabolism. The study found that swine cholic acid can improve glucose homeostasis through different signaling mechanisms, which is a key factor in the risk of developing diabetes in pigs. Bile acids, which assist in emulsifying and absorbing fats and cholesterol, are also important signaling molecules that regulate metabolism and synthesis. Pigs have high levels of pig cholic acid and its derivatives, which can deal with the elevated blood sugar caused by bile acid consumption and improve the secretion of glucagon-like peptides. As a result, researchers believe that if you can increase the levels of bile acid through the gut flora, you can control diabetes, which may become a way to fight the disease in the future.
Research on the correlation between animal and diabetes suggests that. The phenomenon of life is a complex and precise process, which is influenced by both the constitution and external factors. External factors, such as changes in lifestyle and diet, are relatively rapid processes, while internal mechanisms are relatively stable. In the past, people may not have enough to eat or not eat well, and do more physical work. Now, refined or processed food intake greatly increased, the body activity significantly reduced, the islet activity can not keep up with the change of rhythm, there will be insulin resistance and insulin level is quite insufficient, thereby causing the rise of blood sugar, leading to diabetes. We don’t have the strength of pig bile acid levels overnight, we have to control ourselves, or we get sick. This is destiny, and at the same time, it is a destiny that can be changed.