Survival, remission, and quality of life in diabetic cats

BackgroundRemission is documented in a substantial proportion of cats with diabetes. The effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on the lives of cats and their owners should be considered when evaluating treatment success. ObjectivesTo study outcome in cats with DM and the impact DM has on the life situation of cat and owner. AnimalsDomestic and pedigree cats with a diagnosis of DM (n = 477) insured by a Swedish insurance company during 2009 to 2013. MethodsRetrospective cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was sent to 1369 owners of cats diagnosed with DM. The questions concerned the cat, treatment, owner perceptions of the disease and treatment and disease outcome. Data were analyzed using multiple linear and logistic regression, with outcomes set as survival for more than 4 weeks after diagnosis, survival time, achieving remission, remission without relapse and quality of life (QoL) for the cat. ResultsThe response rate was 35%, leaving 477 questionnaires for analysis. The remission rate among treated cats was 29% (118/405). Feeding a commercially available wet diet was associated with both remission (OR 3.16, 95% confidence interval 1.27-8.12) and remission without relapse (OR 14.8, 95% confidence interval 2.25-153.8). Remission was associated with a better QoL for the cat. Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceThe association between feeding a commercially available wet diet and remission is important and strengthens the role of diet in treatment of DM in cats. Linking remission and a better QoL for the cat emphasizes remission as a goal in disease management

Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus in Insured Swedish Cats in Relation to Age, Breed and Sex

Background: Diabetes mellitus ( DM) is a common endocrinopathy in cats. Most affected cats suffer from a type of diabetes similar to type 2 diabetes in humans. An increasing prevalence has been described in cats, as in humans, related to obesity and other lifestyle factors. Objectives: To describe the incidence of DM in insured Swedish cats and the association of DM with demographic risk factors, such as age, breed and sex. Animals: A cohort of 504,688 individual cats accounting for 1,229,699 cat- years at risk ( CYAR) insured by a Swedish insurance company from 2009 to 2013. Methods: We used reimbursed insurance claims for the diagnosis of DM. Overall incidence rates and incidence rates stratified on year, age, breed, and sex were estimated. Results: The overall incidence rate of DM in the cohort was 11.6 cases ( 95% confidence interval [ CI], 11.0- 12.2) per 10,000 CYAR. Male cats had twice as high incidence rate ( 15.4; 95% CI, 14.4- 16.4) as females ( 7.6; 95% CI, 6.9- 8.3). Domestic cats were at higher risk compared to purebred cats. A significant association with breed was seen, with the Burmese, Russian Blue, Norwegian Forest cat, and Abyssinian breeds at a higher risk compared to other cats. No sex predisposition was found among Burmese cats. Several breeds with a lower risk of DM were identified. Conclusions and clinical importance: Our results verify that the Burmese breed is at increased risk of developing DM. We also identified several previously unreported breeds with increased or decreased risk of DM

Recent radiocarbon dating and skeletal analysis of two log coffin burials from Yorkshire : Willie Howe and Towthorpe 139

This paper presents the results of the re-analysis and dating of skeletal material from two Early Bronze Age barrows in the east of Yorkshire, which contained log coffin burials. Towthorpe 139, which was investigated in the nineteenth century by the antiquarian JR Mortimer and Willie Howe, Cowlam which was excavated by TCM Brewster in the 1960s. Analysis of the human remains from Towthorpe revealed that the inhumed body was that of an adult male and the cremated remains, which were found in the mound above the log coffin burial were of a young person. Those from Willie Howe were of an adult male who had suffered a blow to the head. Not enough of the Towthorpe burials survived to obtain radiocarbon dates; however, two determinations were obtained on the skeleton from Willie Howe. These dates have revealed that the human remains date to the period ca. 2200–2000 cal BC

Preservation of the metaproteome: variability of protein preservation in ancient dental calculus.

Proteomic analysis of dental calculus is emerging as a powerful tool for disease and dietary characterisation of archaeological populations. To better understand the variability in protein results from dental calculus, we analysed 21 samples from three Roman-period populations to compare: 1) the quantity of extracted protein; 2) the number of mass spectral queries; and 3) the number of peptide spectral matches and protein identifications. We found little correlation between the quantity of calculus analysed and total protein identifications, as well as no systematic trends between site location and protein preservation. We identified a wide range of individual variability, which may be associated with the mechanisms of calculus formation and/or post-depositional contamination, in addition to taphonomic factors. Our results suggest dental calculus is indeed a stable, long-term reservoir of proteins as previously reported, but further systematic studies are needed to identify mechanisms associated with protein entrapment and survival in dental calculus

Broken childhoods: rural and urban non-adult health during the industrial revolution in Northern England

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries England underwent a period of rapid urbanization and industrialization. The detrimental effects of urban living conditions and child factory labor on the health of children during this time has been the subject of considerable debate and investigation by historians. It is generally understood that growing up in a rural environment was more conducive to healthy growth and development than within an industrial town. This study presents the first direct comparison of the bioarchaeological evidence for non-adult health from contemporaneous urban and rural sites from the north of England. Rural skeletal assemblages from this period are rare and most published studies are biased towards urban sites in the south of the country. Contrary to expectations, results revealed equal prevalence rates of metabolic and dental disease at both sites, but skeletons from the rural site had greater evidence of growth disruption and respiratory disease. Evidence for specific infectious disease and medical care in response to trauma were also identified. Our interpretations of rural/urban health during this period must take into account the dire consequences of social inequalities and economic migration. There is a tendency for the latter to be characterized as uni-directional ‒ from country to town ‒ without due consideration of rural industry and child migrant workers

Grim up North? Exploring the diet of urban populations in post-medieval Greater Manchester, England, using stable isotope analysis

Historical evidence suggests that social status played a major role in all aspects of society in eighteenth–nineteenth century England. We present an insight into how socioeconomic status affected the dietary habits of two post-medieval urban populations from Greater Manchester, northwest England. Stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios were measured in humans from Cross Street Unitarian Chapel (middle class: n = 90) in Manchester city centre and Chapel Street, Hazel Grove (lower status with few middle-class individuals: n = 34). A large sample of 111 faunal remains from Cross Street (n = 37) and Norton Priory, Cheshire (n = 74), provide an animal baseline, dramatically expanding the post-medieval animal isotopic dataset for England. Sheep from Norton Priory show high δ15N isotope values indicative of saltmarsh grazing. Results for human populations revealed a mixed diet of plant and animal protein from C3 terrestrial environments with some potential contribution of aquatic protein. Significant differences revealed between the two populations indicate unequal access to food by status. Intra-population variation at Hazel Grove suggests dietary distinctions by age and sex. Non-adults consumed diets poor in high trophic level protein, whereas adult males consumed greater amounts of animal products. Conversely, the data suggests that at the wealthier Cross Street, there was greater access to high trophic level protein by all. Comparisons between the Manchester populations and those from similar socioeconomic classes from the Midlands and southern England, including London, reveal a bioarchaeological picture of dietary diversity and differential access to resources which impact significantly on well-being during this tumultuous period of industrial England