Some bats have high blood sugar levels that would kill a human Their bodies have adapted in ways that allow them to thrive regardless These changes could help humans better treat, or even prevent, diabetes WEDNESDAY, Aug. 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Some bats have the highest blood sugar levels ever observed in any mammal, surviving and even thriving with levels that would kill a human, researchers report. These bats could provide insights into treating and managing diabetes , they added.
“Our study reports blood sugar levels that are the highest we have ever seen in nature -- what would be lethal, coma-inducing levels for mammals, but not for bats,” said co-lead investigator Jasmin Camacho , a postdoctoral research associate with the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City, Mo. “We are seeing a new trait we didn’t know was possible.” For the study, published Aug.
28 in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution , researchers performed blood sugar tests on nearly 200 wild-caught bats across 29 species, after feeding them sugars associated with a diet of either insects, fruits or nectar. “We saw various ways sugar is assimilated -- absorbed, stored and used in the body -- and how this process has become specialized due to different diets,” said co-lead investigator Andrea Bernal-Rivera , a former researcher with the Stowers Institute. These results indicate that bats have evolved strategies to survive based on the diet they are presented in their envir.