Diabetes: dogs trained to detect glucose changes

After detection of cancer Dogs have just been trained in France to identify changes in blood sugar levels in a person with diabetes and more particularly in children. This ability would come from the fact that a hypo or hyperglycemia would secrete to the human body a hormone discernible by the dog's sense of smell. The exact mechanisms are as yet unknown.

These dogs specialized in the surveillance of diabetes already exist in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, United Kingdom … But not in France. To remedy this, the Acadia badociation managed to train 4 dogs for one year thanks to canine educators. The training consists of teaching the dog to wake up at night when detects hypoglycemia and to give warning (day and night) by sniping at the parents 'or the parents' leg. child or by pressing a sound button installed at its height. The animal can then "anticipate a crisis situation, alert at the right time, secure the child and contribute to the improvement of family living conditions," reads the website of the badociation. 19659006] To be able to train 15 dogs a year

These 4 dogs have just been given to 4 different families, a first in France. During this first trial, several factors will be observed and noted: the dog's alerts, the quality of life of the families, the number of hospitalizations, and the stability of blood glucose. Subsequently, the badociation aims to open a school in France dedicated to the training of these dogs, to create a network of specialized canine educators and to recognize and promote this complementary solution by initiating and conducting studies. scientists. Eventually, Agathe Bertrand, president of Acadia, explains to Sciences et Avenir that the goal will be to successfully train 10 to 15 dogs a year, each training costing the badociation 30 000 euros.

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