Team:RHS-Calgary/Description
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Description
our project
This is our first year participating as an iGEM team, and we are excited to work on a feline related project that sets out to address the growing problem of diabetes in the feline population. GlucoLitter is meant as a device that indicates to a cat owner if the concentration of glucose present in their cat’s urine is of concerning amounts, so that they can book an appointment with their local veterinarian for further testing and a diagnosis. Our product is intended to be efficient, convenient, and simple for anyone to use and can be implemented in three steps. Firstly, a sample of urine will be collected from a cat’s litter box. Secondly, the sample, enzyme, and our working reagent will be placed in an isolated testing bag. Lastly, the sample will be monitored for a color change. If an excess concentration of glucose is present, the color will change from orange to a vivid purple.
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What is feline diabetes? More commonly known as Diabetes mellitus, it is a condition in which either the body is unable to produce insulin(a hormone secreted by the pancreas), or unable to respond to it. Much like humans, cats use glucose as energy. However, when glucose is in the blood, insulin is required in order for the body to absorb it. The insulin will attach to cells in order to signal when they must absorb glucose. When glucose is absorbed, cells get essential energy, and blood glucose levels are thereby lowered. This helps the body store excess glucose for later and maintains blood glucose concentrations within a healthy range.
Diabetes is often classified into two different types: type I and type II.
Type I diabetes is characteristic of high blood glucose concentrations, due to a decrease in insulin production. In contrast, Type II diabetes is characterized by the inability of cells to absorb the sugar from the bloodstream.
Cats that are obese, of increasing age or physically inactive are generally more prone to feline diabetes. According to Cornell University, “Obese cats are up to four times more likely to develop diabetes than ideal weight cats.”(Cornell University, 2021) Hence, with the increase in obesity rates of cats, there has also been an increase in diabetes mellitus, making this life-threatening condition even more common.
The major symptoms of feline diabetes are:
- Excessive thirst
- Increased urination
- Increased appetite
- Weight loss
- Lethargy
In addition to this, there are also some rarer symptoms such as damage to the nerves in the hind legs (this only occurs in cases of uncontrolled diabetes). Another symptom was identified in an interview with John Whitbread, a diabetic cat owner, as he spoke of his experiences owning two diabetic cats, specifically how one of the visible symptoms in his cats was tooth decay.
As with any other disease, diagnosis is crucial. Clinical testing often involves analyzing consistently elevated glucose levels in both a cat's blood and urine. With this comes a challenge...most cats will naturally experience a spike in blood glucose levels due to the stress of being at the vet. This is known as hyperglycemia. In some cases, a fructosamine concentration test can be used, as it looks at a cat's blood glucose levels over a period of two weeks.
This is where GlucoLitter comes into play. Our product allows pet owners to see if their cat has elevated levels of glucose in their urine without having to deal with factors such as stress-induced hyperglycemia. That being said, GlucoLitter is not diagnostic, rather it makes owners aware that they may need to get their pet checked out.
After an official diagnosis, treatment aims to manage the illness. This involves insulin injections. Insulin injections are administered subcutaneously, approximately 12 hours, though this number may vary. Furthermore, a cat's diet may be changed. Particularly for obese cats, specific dietary therapy is needed. This often entails controlled weight loss. Though there is no particular cure for diabetes mellitus in cats, the earlier a cat is diagnosed, the more likely that they will enter a state of remission. This is crucial as the cat will be able to maintain blood sugar levels without hormone therapy. This is what GlucoLitter aims to do. By giving owners an early detection system for high urine glucose levels, we increase the chance that cats will reach a point of remission.
ideation
Why did we choose our project?
Our brainstorming process began a few years ago with a small group of grade 12 students. We were initially inspired to do this project through the influence of our mentors and peers who have owned and cared for diabetic cats, struggling to manage the condition. Each of these individuals expressed the difficulty of preventing the cat’s symptoms from worsening to a point where remission is no longer possible. Since then, our team has evolved, with the reins of our iGEM project being passed on to a new group of grade 11 students. As a team, we have worked to ensure that we bring the idea of GlucoLitter to this completion in order to spread an idea that could help countless cats across the globe.
application
Why is our project useful?
Feline diabetes is a prevalent issue that continues to be overlooked by our society. An average of 1 in 200 cats are affected by feline diabetes. However, it is often tricky to diagnose due to the difficulty of noticing symptoms in the early stages of the disease, and once symptoms are more noticeable, their similarity to the symptoms of other diseases can make the identification of feline diabetes tricky. Today, tests to diagnose and monitor feline diabetes are costly and inefficient; They involve veterinary administration of both a blood glucose test and a urinalysis, to ensure a final diagnosis. However, these tests are difficult to perform in cats as they often stress the cat out, leading to stress- induced hyperglycemia which can skew diagnostic results. Furthermore, if left untreated altogether, the progression of diabetes can lead to acute pancreatitis and acute kidney failure. After a cat has been diagnosed, owners must perform blood sugar tests and administer insulin injections regularly to manage the condition. Although there are other products similar to ours on the market, none of them directly investigate increased glucose concentrations. These products have historically been in the form of litter additives. For instance, we were inspired by a company called Pretty Litter specifically because of their use of litter additives. Furthermore, through iterative design, we have refined GlucoLitter to be a spray that is used in an isolated environment, such that owners can ensure that their pet is not exposed to the contents of our product and to prevent possible contamination. Our project, GlucoLitter, is a litter additive that enables at-home testing for elevated urine glucose levels so that cats can enter a phase of remission as early as possible.
References
Bloom, C. A., & Rand, J. (2014). Feline diabetes mellitus: clinical use of long-acting glargine and detemir. Journal of feline medicine and surgery, 16(3), 205–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X14523187
Diabetes Mellitus in Cats - Overview, Williams, K., & Williams, C. K. (n.d.). Diabetes mellitus in cats - overview. vca_canada_corporate. Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://vcacanada.com/know-your-pet/diabetes-mellitus-in-cats-overview.
Feline diabetes. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. (2021, June 17). Retrieved October 20, 2021, from https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/feline-diabetes.