Diabetes, a Growing Health Crisis in Singapore – What is the Best Animal-based Disease Model?
Diabetes is a major challenge for the population at large, and for the health system in particular, in many developed countries. In Singapore, we have observed an alarming trend, with numbers of type 2 diabetics quickly catching up with those in “the West”. What are the underlying reasons, and how we can model this disease appropriately in rodents, or do we even need to engage alternative animal species? This overview talk will give some insights in what represents a good animal model in general, and shed some light on the differences between poplar rodent diabetes models (STZ, NOD, and Ob/Ob mouse).