Maybe if your endo won’t prescribe a CGM for you, you should try your pet’s vet…
This article was on the front page of the Minneapolis paper this morning: http://http://www.startribune.com/business/121411069.html
And maybe the cats and dogs can help persuade Medicare and other insurance companies that these things are useful.
Here’s the test of the article, but you should follow the link to see the photo of the cat with the attached CGM.
Medtronic device finds a new use in pets
Article by: JANET MOORE , Star Tribune Updated: May 7, 2011 - 11:49 PM
A veterinarian uses a glucose monitor for people to help treat dogs and cats with diabetes.
A tiny blood glucose monitor can determine a cat’s insulin levels.
Some years ago, a physician pulled out a new type of glucose monitor for diabetic patients and showed it to Dr. Charles Wiedmeyer.
“Wow, that would be great to put on a cat,” he remarked, to the chagrin of his medical colleague.
Wiedmeyer, an assistant professor of veterinary clinical pathology at the University of Missouri, has since become a national advocate for using a device from Fridley-based Medtronic Inc. on dogs and cats with diabetes.
While the company’s continuous glucose monitor is made for humans, Wiedmeyer says it adapts well to “companion animals.”
It’s not unusual for veterinarians to use medical devices intended for humans in dogs and cats. Dogs, in particular, are physiologically similar to humans in many ways. But few device companies are devoted solely to making products for the veterinary market.
Medtronic spokeswoman Amanda Sheldon declined to comment on Wiedmeyer’s research, noting the glucose monitoring sensors have not been approved for use in dogs.
Pooches are especially susceptible to Type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes because their bodies don’t produce enough insulin, a hormone that helps cells turn sugar into energy. In the past 30 years, the incidence of diabetes in dogs has increased 200 percent.
“If diabetes is detected, it has to be treated,” Wiedmeyer says. “If not, the animal gets worse and worse and eventually will succumb.”
Genetic disposition and obesity may play a role in the precipitous increase. And, as in humans, there is no cure.
But Fido’s diabetes can certainly be treated, usually with insulin injections and a low-carb diet.
A persistent challenge for veterinarians treating diabetic pets is the ability to monitor glucose levels efficiently and accurately, readings that are necessary to determine the animal’s insulin dosage.
In the past, blood was drawn from the animal in a veterinary hospital every two hours over a day’s time as a way of monitoring glucose curves. But trips to the vet are often traumatic events for dogs and cats – the excitement can cause their glucose levels to spike.
“Cats really get excited when you bring them to the vet,” Wiedmeyer says. “It’s difficult to get an accurate reading.”
Medtronic’s device, called the Guardian Real-Time System, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for humans in 2007. The device is a patch with a cannula that is inserted into the skin and records blood sugar levels throughout the day and night. It’s been a spectacular product for Medtronic – in fiscal 2010, sales of continuous glucose monitors increased 34 percent to $176 million. It’s unclear how many of the devices have been sold in the veterinary market, though.
The product is generally best for pets who have not responded to conventional diabetes therapy. It also helps to have a persistent and engaged pet owner. A patch is attached to a shaved portion of the dog’s or cat’s neck, and then the animal is sent home for three days. (Dogs don’t pick at the patch, although Wiedmeyer says a horse once ate one.)
The reading from the patch is downloaded to a computer for analysis. “The instrument really is revolutionary,” Wiedmeyer says.
There are skeptics. Dr. Robert Hardy, a small-animal internist at the University of Minnesota’s veterinary teaching hospital, isn’t a convert. He said the device has many limitations and doesn’t save money. “I don’t think it would be feasible or useful for the majority of dogs or cats we see with diabetes,” he said.
At Missouri, the cost of the patch/probes is about $150. The software and recording device are reusable.
Wiedmeyer said one limitation is that the animal must be brought in to the vet three times a day over a three-day period for blood samples. Or the pet’s owner can extract the blood samples, but sometimes that’s not feasible.
But he said there has been increasing acceptance of the idea since he and his colleagues at Missouri published numerous articles in veterinary journals about their research beginning in 2003.
“It was something that was new. It’s hard to adapt to new things,” he said. “Plus, at the time, the monitor was big as a pager, so it was cumbersome. People have come around since then.”
