When to Diagnose a Mouse as Diabetic one?

The salient difference between humans and mice is that many inbred mouse strains not considered to have diabetes maintain a higher concentration of glucose in blood than do humans, and some of these “normal” values approach what is considered to be diagnostic for diabetes in humans.


The criteria currently offered by the American Diabetes Association for diagnosis of diabetes in humans are non fasting plasma glucose 200 mg/dL; fasting 126 mg/dL. Hence, a number of inbred mouse strains considered to exhibit non fasting glucose homeostasis might be considered borderline diabetic if human criteria for non fasting glycemia were imposed. As an example, a mean glucose of 195 ± 5 and 223 ± 9 at 8 and 16 weeks, respectively, was recorded in a group of normoglycemic CBA/J males .


The diagnostic criterion for clinical diabetes in a mouse be set as a nonfasting glucose concentration in blood 250 mg/dL, and preferably a chronic elevation 300 mg/dL. In the case of Type 1 diabetic mice, such as the NOD/ShiLtJ mouse at TJL, this higher value for plasma glucose exceeds a renal threshold for glucose spillage into the urine (glycosuria) necessary to have a clear diagnosis of diabetes by urine test reagents such as Diastix™
.