title: New Approaches to Feline Diabetes Mellitus: Glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs.
abstract: Incretin-based therapies are revolutionizing the field of human diabetes mellitus (DM) by replacing insulin therapy with safer and more convenient long-acting drugs.
  
  
  
  Incretin hormones (glucagon-like peptide-1 [GLP-1] and glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide [GIP]) are secreted from the intestinal tract in response to the presence of food in the intestinal lumen. GLP-1 delays gastric emptying and increases satiety. In the pancreas, GLP-1 augments insulin secretion and suppresses glucagon secretion during hyperglycemia in a glucose-dependent manner. It also protects beta cells from oxidative and toxic injury and promotes expansion of beta cell mass.
  
  
  
  Clinical data have revealed that GLP-1 analog drugs are as effective as insulin in improving glycemic control while reducing body weight in people suffering from type 2 DM. Furthermore, the incidence of hypoglycemia is low with these drugs because of their glucose-dependent mechanism of action. Another significant advantage of these drugs is their duration of action. While insulin injections are administered at least once daily, long-acting GLP-1 analogs have been developed as once-a-week injections and could potentially be administered even less frequently than that in diabetic cats.
  
  
  
  This article reviews the physiology of incretin hormones, and the pharmacology and use of GLP-1 analogs, with emphasis on recent research in cats. Further therapies that are based on incretin hormones, such as DPP-4 inhibitors, are also briefly discussed, as are some other treatment modalities that are currently under investigation.
authors: University of California School of Veterinary Medicine, 2118A Tupper Hall, Davis, CA 95616, USA cgilor@ucdavis.edu.
authors: Chen
authors: C
authors: Gilor
authors: Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
authors: Adam J
authors: AJ
authors: Rudinsky
authors: Sheridan Animal Hospital & Veterinary Specialists of Western New York, 2288 Sheridan Drive, Buffalo, NY 14223, USA.
authors: Melanie J
authors: MJ
authors: Hall
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002415:Cats; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D054795:Incretins / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D054795:Incretins; D052216:Glucagon-Like Peptide 1