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Koala With Diabetes Is Fitted With Cgm Device

DCUK NewsBot

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A koala with diabetes has been fitted with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to help carers manage his condition better. Quincy, who lives at the world famous San Diego Zoo had been undergoing daily insulin injections. His carers now hope the CGM will enable them to disturb Quincy less in order to monitor and respond to his blood sugar. Quincy was first diagnosed by Los Angeles Zoo veterinarians, but he was moved soon after so he could receive specialist care at the San Diego Zoo. It is rare for koalas to be diagnosed with diabetes and animal experts are still not certain why the condition can sometimes develop in the animals. It is hoped the Dexcom device, which monitors blood glucose levels in real time and is linked up to smart technology, will improve the animal’s quality of life. Cora Singleton, senior veterinarian at San Diego Zoo, said: "Very few koalas have been diagnosed with and treated for diabetes. Quincy currently requires insulin injections, which are based on his blood sugar level. With a continuous glucose monitor, we may be able to monitor Quincy’s glucose levels throughout the day without having to disturb him. We are hopeful that this technology will work as well in koalas as it does in people." Keepers said the application of the monitor went smoothly, and they look forward to having information that will help them develop a treatment plan for Quincy’s condition. Traditionally, glucose monitoring has been carried out using finger pricking and a blood glucose meter, but a CGM will be less invasive for Quincy. Peter Simpson, vice president of advanced technology at Dexcom, said: "You can imagine what this technology means for Quincy, and any person trying to manage this challenging disease. "Just like Quincy's veterinarian, people with diabetes and their family or friends can monitor their glucose levels from a mobile device, providing around-the-clock safety and peace of mind." Picture: Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo/PA

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Koala's are on a low carb diet already, not much nutrition in eucalyptus leaves...
 
I just hope those Koala claws cannot pull the CGM device out !
Or that it gets rubbed off when the koala sits in or moves about the gum (eucalyptus) trees.
Watch out diabetic dogs! Not only does your present include collars and under the skin ID but CGM may be in your future !
Trust an Aussie animal to push the veterinary envelope!!
 
MrsGruffy said:
He's a long way from home.. I wonder if they deep fry and batter the eucalyptus leaves in America?
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Would not put it past them, from what I have watched on SBS Food Network they will be giving Quincy all you can eat fries with that.
 
I reckon he is served eucalyptus leaves au naturale. (Not sure about the GI and GL values)
And the zoo might be selling koala burgers and perhaps koala-shaped ice blocks as money spinners.
 
kitedoc said:
I reckon he is served eucalyptus leaves au naturale. (Not sure about the GI and GL values)
And the zoo might be selling koala burgers and perhaps koala-shaped ice blocks as money spinners.
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Hardly any nutritional value in gum leaves, that's why they sleep up to twenty hours a day.

When the white men first came to Australia way back when, they asked the local indigenous people what Koala were they said "Koala, it tastes like s#*t".

So I do not see them cutting a profit on koala burgers.
 
I just hope those Koala claws cannot pull the CGM device out !
Or that it gets rubbed off when the koala sits in or moves about the gum (eucalyptus) trees.
Watch out diabetic dogs! Not only does your present include collars and under the skin ID but CGM may be in your future !
Trust an Aussie animal to push the veterinerary envelope.
 
He must have been eating the SAD (Standard American Diet)...too many treats from visitors..
 
Great, a koala gets CGM, humans (mostly) don't.
 
Diakat said:
Great, a koala gets CGM, humans (mostly) don't.
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Koala's are national treasures here in Australia, so we do not give them away cheaply.

The San Diego zoo in the US is protecting it's investment...
 
I hope the koala will feel better soon. Saw a picture of the phone they use to see his bg, and it was well over 300 with a pretty straight line. Seems like there's some fine-tuning to be done with his doses.
 
Speaking of gut biome and poo transplants (see what I did there?), the baby koala eats a diet high in their mum's faeces in order to receive the bacteria they need to tolerate their diet of eucalyptus leaves. Quite fascinating. It's called coprophagia. They only eat eucalyptus leaves and only certain types. Perhaps they're ahead of themselves, evolutionarily, since a similar treatment in a more gentrified delivery system, is being considered to treat all manner of human ills.
 


Diabetic dogs are already using Libre (self funded with gravy bones)
 
Engineer88 said:
Diabetic dogs are already using Libre (self funded with gravy bones)
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Yep. Our vet will provide them (at a cost, of course)
Antje77 said:
I hope the koala will feel better soon. Saw a picture of the phone they use to see his bg, and it was well over 300 with a pretty straight line. Seems like there's some fine-tuning to be done with his doses.
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Ah ... but what is normal glucose for a koala? Dogs are different from humans.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Ah ... but what is normal glucose for a koala? Dogs are different from humans.
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Not sure, but I dont believe over 300 would be normal. Stole the next bit from wikipedia, no koala's involved, but with all the other animals having a range not vastly different from humans I think the same would go for Koala's. Also, I think I saw a chart of koala blood sugar on facebook this morning, but can't find it now.

"In general, ranges of blood sugar in common domestic ruminants are lower than in many monogastric mammals.[11] However this generalization does not extend to wild ruminants or camelids. For serum glucose in mg/dL, reference ranges of 42 to 75 for cows, 44 to 81 for sheep, and 48 to 76 for goats, but 61 to 124 for cats; 62 to 108 for dogs, 62 to 114 for horses, 66 to 116 for pigs, 75 to 155 for rabbits, and 90 to 140 for llamas have been reported.[12] A 90 percent reference interval for serum glucose of 26 to 181 mg/dL has been reported for captured mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), where no effects of the pursuit and capture on measured levels were evident.[13] For beluga whales, the 25–75 percent range for serum glucose has been estimated to be 94 to 115 mg/dL.[14] For the white rhinoceros, one study has indicated that the 95 percent range is 28 to 140 mg/dL.[15] For harp seals, a serum glucose range of 4.9 to 12.1 mmol/L [i.e. 88 to 218 mg/dL] has been reported; for hooded seals, a range of 7.5 to 15.7 mmol/L [i.e. about 135 to 283 mg/dL] has been reported.[16]"
 
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