From:
AFERRETVET@cs.com
Date: 2003-12-02 04:48:36 UTC
Subject: Re:Adrenal/prostate, etc?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <149.1d7476ff.2cfd73a4@cs.com>
Hi
Sorry to hear about your high rate of adrenal
problems. It was surprising to hear that you had
2 dogs with adrenal tumors, for that is truely rare.
Now to your questions.
Can Lupron or melatonin be used to hopefully prevent
adrenal gland disease? YES! (However I do not think
Casodex would be a logical choice as a preventative.)
Yes, finasteride (Proscar or Propecia) alone will help
to shrink the enlarged prostate. It works by preventing
testosterone from being converted to dihydrotestosterone
(DHT). DHT is what causes the prostate to enlarge.
Thus with no DHT, the prostate shrinks.
However Lupron will help lower all of the adrenal hormones,
including testosterone. By lowering the testosterone, there
is less DHT that can be made, so the prostate shrinks.
Thus it works best to use Lupron with finasteride.
Casodex works by blocking the androgen (DHT) receptors
on the prostate, so it will also work to reduce the
size of the prostate. Flutamide also works by blocking
those receptors. However the hormone levels do not change
with these 2 medicines. Again best to use with Lupron.
Melatonin can also be used to reduce the size of the prostate.
It is believed that melatonin reduces the adrenal sex hormones.
Plus there are actual melatonin receptors on the prostate,
so it may work by 2 different routes.
As for giving finasteride to prevent prostate problems, it is a
very safe medicine even at high doses, so it might be a good
idea to give it to your males.
Hope that helps,
Jerry Murray, DVM