The sand rat (psammomys obesus) as an experimental animal in studies of diabetes mellitus

Summary The sand rat has some unique attributes, which make it a valuable experimental animal. The occurrence of increased plasma insulin levels and of hyperglycemia is linked to an increased food intake. As in the human maturity-onset type diabetes, there seems to be an element of insulin resistance, and this can be demonstratedin vitro by the relative unresponsiveness of sand rat adipose tissue to increasing doses of pork insulin. Prophylactic treatment with acetohexamide seems to have some protective effect against the diabetogenic results of a high calory diet. — It is expected that the diabetic syndrome in sand rats, which can be so easily induced by dietary manipulation, will be a valuable tool in helping to clarify some of the possible mechanisms in the syndrome of diabetes mellitus.This work was carried out during the tenure of Research Career Awards from the U. S. Public Health Service to Drs.Hackel (HE-K6-14, 188) andSchmidt-Nielsen, (K6-GM-21, 522) a Career Development Award to Dr.Lebovitz (K3-AM-17, 954), and a Research Fellowship to Dr.Horton (F3-AM-32, 326); supported by grants from the U. S. Public Health Service (AM-08949, AM-1324, and HE-0228), Eli Lilly Co., the Duke University Research Council, and the Mary Duke Biddle Foundation.