Top Endocrine Publications of 2012: Insulinoma and Other Causes of Hypoglycemia

Insulinoma in a dog, showing up a solidary pancreatic nodule

In my fourth compilation of the canine and feline endocrine publications of 2012, I’m going back to disorders of the pancreas. But now let’s move on to islet cell tumors (e.g., insulinoma) and other causes of hypoglycemia.

Listed below are 13 research papers written in 2012 that review endocrine hypoglycemia in dogs and cats. These include new aspects in pathogenesis of hypoglycemia associated with insulin-secreting tumors of the pancreas (1,3,5), portosystemic shunts (2), or hypoadrenocorticism (4,8).

Other papers review the hypoglycemia and liver toxicosis associated with xylitol toxicosis in dogs (7,10), as well as the hypoglycemia associated with insulin treatment of diabetes mellitus (6,11-13).

2012 Papers on Canine and Feline Islet Cell Tumors of the Pancreas and Other Causes for Hypoglycemia:

1. Buishand FO, van Erp MG, Groenveld HA, et al. Expression of insulin-like growth factor-1 by canine insulinomas and their metastases. Vet J 2012;191:334-340. 
2. Collings AJ, Gow AG, Marques A, et al. A prospective study of basal insulin concentrations in dogs with congenital portosystemic shunts. J Small Anim Pract 2012;53:228-233. 
3. Goutal CM, Brugmann BL, Ryan KA. Insulinoma in dogs: a review. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2012;48:151-163. 
4. Gow AG, Gow DJ, Bell R, et al. Insulin concentrations in dogs with hypoadrenocorticism. Res Vet Sci 2012;93:97-99. 
5. Hambrook LE, Kudnig ST. Tumor thrombus formation in two dogs with insulinomas. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2012;241:1065-1069. 
6. Hugler S. Diabetic alert dogs: A good nose for hypoglycemia. Dtsch Med Wochenschr 2012;137:p25. 
7. Imai A, Nishita T, Ichihara N, et al. Binding affinity of anti-xylitol antibodies to canine hepatic vessels. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 2012;149:108-111. 
8. Kasabalis D, Bodina E, Saridomichelakis MN. Severe hypoglycemia in a cat with primary hypoadrenocorticism. J Feline Med Surg 2012;14:755-758. 
9. Mazaki-Tovi M, Segev G, Yas-Natan E, et al. Serum gastrin concentrations in dogs with liver disorders. Vet Rec 2012;171:19. 
10. Murphy LA, Coleman AE. Xylitol toxicosis in dogs. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract 2012;42:307-312. 
11. Niessen SJ. Glucagon: are we missing a (life-saving) trick? J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio) 2012;22:523-525. 
12. Niessen SJ, Powney S, Guitian J, et al. Evaluation of a quality-of-life tool for dogs with diabetes mellitus. J Vet Intern Med 2012;26:953-961. 
13. Zeugswetter FK, Schornsteiner E, Haimel G, et al. Metabolic and hormonal responses to subcutaneous glucagon in healthy beagles. J Vet Emerg Crit Care (San Antonio) 2012;22:558-563. (See my blog post entitled "Use of a Glucagon Emergency Kit for Insulin-Induced Hypoglycemia" to see my review of this paper.)