Oral medications for treating diabetes mellitus in dogs and cats

Five classes of oral hypoglycaemic drugs and two trace minerals used to tre at diabetes mellitus in humans are reviewed and current knowledge on the us e of these drugs in diabetic dogs anti cats is presented. Oral sulphonylure a drugs stimulate insulin secretion and have been used successfully to trea t diabetes in cats but not dogs. Preliminary studies evaluating the efficac y of the biguanide, metformin, in diabetic cats have not been promising. Ph armacokinetic studies have been performed in healthy cats, but clinical stu dies evaluating the efficacy of the insulin-sensitising drugs, thiazolidine diones, have not been reported, Treatment with the alpha-glucosidase inhibi tor, acarbose, improved control of glycaemia in diabetic dogs; similar stud ies have not been reported in cats, Although chromium picolinate did not im prove control of glycaemia in diabetic dogs, vanadium has improved control of the abnormality in diabetic cats.