Treatment of diabetes mellitus in a golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) with the glucagon-like peptide-1 mimetic exenatide

James G. Johnson, Jennifer N. Langan, Chen Gilor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

An 8-yr-old male golden lion tamarin (Leontopithecus rosalia) was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus based on hyperglycemia and persistent glycosuria. Initial treatment consisted of the oral antihyperglycemic medications glipizide and metformin that resulted in decreased blood glucose concentrations; however, marked glycosuria persisted. Insufficient improvement on oral antihyperglycemic therapy and poor feasibility of daily subcutaneous insulin therapy led to an investigation into an alternative therapy with extended-release exenatide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) mimetic, at a dosage of 0.13 mg/kg subcutaneously once per month. Following treatment with exenatide, the persistent glycosuria resolved, the animal maintained normal blood glucose concentrations, and had lower serum fructosamine concentrations compared to pretreatment levels. Based on these findings, extended-release exenatide could be considered as a therapeutic option in nonhuman primates with diabetes mellitus that do not respond to oral antihyperglycemics and in which daily subcutaneous insulin is not feasible.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)903-906
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine
Volume47
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2016

Keywords

  • Callitrichid
  • Leontopithecus rosalia
  • diabetes mellitus
  • exenatide
  • glycosuria
  • golden lion tamarin

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • General Veterinary

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