The dog sniffs diabetes, and people know why

It turns out that when hypoglycemia is approaching, the amount of isoprene in diabetic breathing increases and dogs are especially sensitive to this chemical so they can give early warning to their owners. There is a proper way to handle it. The problem seems so simple but has caused scientists a headache for years and finding the answer is not merely to clarify the problem but also to help create the type of medical sensor used to monitor the health status of diabetic patients more effectively, accurately and quickly.

Scientists think that in terms of the ability to perceive the world around the dog's sense of smell is better than its eyesight . Dogs can detect scents of extremely small density - about 1 part per trillion. Compared to humans, that ability is equivalent to discovering a spoonful of sugar in an Olympic-standard swimming pool. This not only allows dogs to be trained to fight terrorism, detect drugs but also be used in medicine, helping to detect many different forms of cancer and diabetes.

The sense of smell of dogs is better than their eyesight.

For diabetes, specially trained dogs can determine when their owner's blood sugar is below the recommended level - a sign that can lead to acute hypoglycemia. In patients with type 1 diabetes, lowering blood sugar levels can lead to tremors, disorientation and fatigue. If the situation worsens, the patient may fall or lose consciousness. In some people, these situations often occur suddenly and have little early warning signs. However, when a dog detects that its owner is having a problem, it will notify it by performing the preceded actions, such as barking, lying down, .

However, how does the dog possess this ability? Or more precisely, what specific smell or smell do they feel? This question has been a mystery to scientists for many years and until recently, a study conducted by the Wellcome Trust-MRC and Cambridge University Institute of Metrology finally found the answer. word. And the answer may be surprisingly simple: it is isoprene (C ₅ H ₈ ) - a natural chemical found in human breaths.

In the study, scientists called for eight women with type 1 diabetes and under controlled conditions, their blood sugar was deliberately lowered. Using mass spectrometry, the scientists carefully traced each specific chemical property to determine the presence of each type of molecule. And based on this data, scientists found that isoprene levels have increased significantly during hypoglycemia. There is even a case of isoprene nearly doubling.

A dog is trained to support diabetics.

Researchers believe that humans may not be able to recognize isoprene while dogs are particularly sensitive to this chemical . Therefore, they can easily determine when the owner's breath contains too much isoprene. But the question that continues to be asked is why is the body producing isoprene when hypoglycemic? The team argues that this may be a byproduct of cholesterol production . However, they still understand exactly why isoprene increases when blood sugar drops.

Based on this discovery, researchers will be able to develop smart sensors capable of early warning of hypoglycemia similar to sniffing in dogs. More specifically, it could be a tiny device that keeps track of isoprene concentrations in the patient's breath, thereby early warning and effective onset of hypoglycemia instead of having to stab the affected blood. , inconvenient as old now. The story of the dog has not stopped there because it still has the ability to detect some types of cancer, even Parkinson, . and these continue to be questions that need to be found by scientists. reply in the near future. But anyway, thank you dogs!