Hypoglycaemia (a fall of blood sugar in the blood) may develop within minutes in people with type 1 diabetes. It is usually preceded by symptoms such as sweating, nervousness, or palpitations. There is no efficient system to prevent hypoglycaemia, which may occur at home during the night. British researchers have discovered that dogs often show an altered behaviour when a crisis of hypoglycaemia is about to occur to one of his owners. Amicus Canis is a research project led by CIBER of Diabetes and Associated Metabolic Disorders (CIBERDEM) investigating what does detect the dog and educating it to do so, integrating thus the animal into the family life of the patient. This study was performed in collaboration with the l'Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) - Hospital Clínic, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Argus Detection Dogs and the Associació de Diabètics de Catalunya.
More information about Amicus Canis: www.investigaladiabetes.org