Juvenile diabetes mellitus with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in a Thai Bangkaew dog: A case report

An 8-month-old intact male Thai Bangkaew bred dog presented with polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, exercise intolerance and weight loss over 2 weeks. The serum biochemistry profiles revealed hyperglycemia, glycosuria and high serum fructosamine concentrations indicating the development of diabetes mellitus. The dog had a good response to a half-dose of intermediate-insulin injection twice daily monitored by the improvement of clinical signs and serum fructosamine. This was supposed to be due to the partial destruction of islets of Langerhans. Two months later, voluminous diarrhea with greasy stools, dry coat hair and generalized alopecia were observed. However, the clinical signs of diabetes mellitus, such as polyuria and polydipsia were not noticed. The levels of canine-trypsin-like immune-reactivity and cobalamin were below the normal range. This suggested exocrine pancreas loss of function. To determine the etiology, serum insulin was measured revealing a very low level. On the other hand, serum canine pancreas-specific lipase and C-reactive protein were in the normal range. Using ultrasonography, immune-mediated pancreatic fibrosis was suspected while pancreatitis was a lesser possibility. Successful treatment was achieved with a combination of low-dose insulin, pancreatic enzymes and methylcobalamin promoting weight gain and exercise tolerance. This case was a report of juvenile diabetes mellitus concurrent with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in a Thai Bangkaew dog, which had not been well recognized. Additional to the Thai Bangkaew breed, this report might be an important piece of scientific knowledge that might be of potential hereditability and economic importance in the future.