People with type 1 diabetes are unable to produce insulin themselves, so they need to take insulin to manage their blood sugar levels. Diabetes patients often suffer from hyperglycemia – a condition where there is excess sugar in the blood.
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In a preliminary study, the researchers gradually lowered the blood sugar levels of eight women with Type I diabetes, and analyzed the chemical makeup of the women’s breath. Should Kate’s blood sugar level drop to 4.5 mmol/L or lower, Amy will alert her-and if she proves unresponsive, the dog will go wake up Kate’s parents.
People with type 1 diabetes – triggered by the body’s inability to create insulin – must test their blood several times a day to make sure their sugar levels do not dip too low or spike too high.
“If he smells a hypo coming, he will jump up and put his paws on my shoulders to let me know”, said Pesterfield.
Low blood sugar is a warning sign that things are not alright and if such a condition undergoes prolongation, the patient could end up in quite a mess.
Experts say hypoglycemic episodes can rush in without warning. They found that the chemical known as isoprene greatly increases during an episode of hypoglycemia, UPI reports. They looked for precise chemical signatures using mass spectrometry to detect the presence of certain molecules. In some cases, the presence of isoprene almost doubled.
But they conclude in the journal Diabetes Care that this is the cue that medical detection dogs are picking up. Isoprene is one of a number of chemicals, called volatile organic compounds, that are found in human breath.
Humans are oblivious to isoprene, but the researchers figure that dogs are particularly sensitive to the chemical, and can easily tell when their owner’s breath contains too much of it. A trained dog may be able to detect when their blood sugar levels are falling to potentially risky levels. It is also supported by the University of Durham, the Medical Research Council (MRC) in Gambia and Medical Detection Dogs.
Medical detection dogs work by alerting or waking up their owners whenever their blood sugar level drops to the point of hypoglycaemia – a condition that can cause shakiness, loss of consciousness, and, if untreated, death.
The scientists suggest it may be possible to develop new breath detectors that can identify higher levels of isoprene in patients at risk.
“Low blood sugar is an everyday threat to me and if it falls too low – which it can do quickly – it can be very unsafe”, said Claire Pesterfield, a pediatric diabetes specialist nurse at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust who has type 1 diabetes and was not involved in the study, in a statement. “Magic is incredible. He’s not just a wonderful companion, but he’s my “nose” to warn me if I’m at risk of a hypo”, she added.
“Isoprene is one of the commonest natural chemicals that we find in human breath”, said Mark Evans from University of Cambridge.
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Plus, of course, it’s way cuter.
