Progesteronrelaterad diabetes mellitus hos älghund
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a relatively common endocrine disease in dogs and is more common in certain breeds than others, e.g. Nordic spitz breeds. Within the Swedish and Norwegian Elkhound population, female dogs are almost exclusively affected. The hypothesis in this study is that Swedish- and Norwegian Elkhounds develop DM during the progesterone phase of estrous (diestrous or pregnancy).
Medical records from 51 female dogs of the breeds Swedish and Norwegian Elkhound were studied. All cases derived from the Canine Diabetes Mellitus Project at the University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) up to July 2008. The dogs were followed in average 2,8 months (range one day to 37 months). The study shows that the dogs develop DM in progesterone phase (diestrous or pregnancy). The study also showed that in several cases, remission of the disease was obtained after ovariohysterectomi of the dogs. Moreover, it was indicated that the best chance for remission was if the time lap from the start of clinical signs until performance of the ovariohysterectomi became as short as possible. Thus, the recommendation is to perform an ovariohysterectomi as soon as possible after confirmation of the diagnosis.
Insulin and progesterone concentrations were measured in 15 female dogs with DM and 15 healthy female dogs. The study showed no significant difference in either insulin or progesterone concentrations between sick and healthy female dogs. However, the study showed that most of the female dogs with DM still had insulin production at the time of diagnosis. The insulin concentrations in dogs with DM showed a tendency to be higher at the beginning of the progesterone phase. Further studies with increased number of dogs would be of interest in order to further evaluate differences in both insulin and progesterone concentrations in female elkhounds.