Diabetic's Best Friend

I didn't write on my blog last week as it was a very hectic week ....The summer job situation has been an ordeal, but I think I finally landed something worthwhile. I don't want to jinx it though so I'll update you on that in a later post. More importantly, after 6 years of hard work, I graduated last week with my undergraduate degree (with honours)! I was starting to think the day would never come. I am relieved its over and am excited to move on to graduate school in September when I begin my Nutrition Communication MHSc program. Yikes! If you'd asked me a few years ago I'd have laughed a the thought of going to graduate school. Anyway, enough excuses and bragging from me...and back to what you are here for...

I came across a Globe & Mail article this morning that described an interesting thing currently happening in Britain. Dogs are being trained to warn diabetic owners when their blood sugar levels have dropped to dangerous levels. Amazed? I'd be a liar if I said I was. I mean after all, canines have been sniffing for illegal drugs and weapons for a long time, and more recently have also been used to detect certain human cancer cells.

It is because of their amazing sense of smell that this works. As cited in the article, recent evidence has suggested that a dog's hypersensitive sense of smell can detect tiny changes that occur when someone is about to have a hypoglycemic attack. This new research is being conducted at the same centre where research into the use of dogs for sniffing out bladder cancer cells from human urine occurred. The interest in dogs for diabetics came about from a diabetic dog owner, Paul Jackson who reported to researchers that his dog Tinker warned him when his sugar levels were low, and he was in danger of collapsing. On multiple occasions Tinker would display unusual behaviour such as sitting beside Paul and panting heavily or excessively licking his face. Tinker is now fully trained and is qualified as a diabetic hypo alert dog.

Well I can't help but emphasize my bias towards 'upstream' or 'preventative' health care approaches, I am not opposed to this approach. I'd like to see a continued focus on diabetic prevention rather than treatment, as it is well known that poor diet and lack of exercise are two modifiable risk factors for developing diabetes. However, diabetes is complicated and is not always preventable. And so, I commend the researchers who've been able to utilize dogs' more developed sense of smell for their ability to contribute to medicine in ways that we humans could not. And if it saves even just a few lives, it will prove to be worth the effort. As I sit at my desk writing this post, I can't help but notice my loyal cat curled up having an afternoon snooze beside me. She's cute and makes for good company when being lazy around the house....am I a dreamer to think that one day cats too will be on board the medical diagnostic bandwagon?