A syndrome of molybdenosis, copper deficiency, and type 2 diabetes in the moose population of south-west Sweden

Since the mid-1980s, a ‘mysterious’ disease has been afflicting the moose Alces alces L.. population of south-western Sweden. Molybdenosis combined with secondary copper deficiency syndrome has been suggested as the cause of the clinical signs and of necropsy findings, supported by trace element analysis. Copper deficiency has long been associated with disturbed carbohydrate metabolism and also with oxidative stress. When testing the oxidative stress hypothesis, we found increased concentrations of the glycoxidation products pentosidine and carboxymethyl-lysine CML., both in plasma proteins and in renal tissue, when compared with control values. The concentration of glycated lysine furosine., a marker of hyperglycaemia, was also increased. These data, together with elevated insulin levels in affected moose, strongly suggest that they are suffering from an environmentally-induced, non-insulin-dependent type 2 diabetes.