From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-02-28 22:22:10 UTC
Subject: RE: lupus or pemphigus?
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Message-ID: <6714924.1109629330032.JavaMail.root@thallium.smartgroups.com>
Have alternatives like cutaneous lympho been considered, too?
Here is the past post:
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/browse.php?msg=SG513
includes:
> While I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was lupus
>(ferrets have yet to be truly diagnosed with lupus) our
>discussion centered around another autoimmune disease,
>pemphigus. I think I can speak with authority on lupus, as I
>have written book chapters on the subject, and I have seen a
>number of cases of autoimmune disease in ferrets, and the two
>are quite dissimilar.
> However, what the autoimmune diseases share in common is
>the fact that for reasons we don't know, the body begins to
>produce antibodies against normal components. In pemphigus,
>it is against the proteins that hold the skin together, so it often
> just comes apart, and you get scab formation.
>One of the main differences between lupus and pemphigus is
>that lupus is generally a systemic disease affecting many organs,
>including the kidneys and joints, and pemphigus is pretty much
>restricted to the skin and mucus membranes.
>With kindest regards,
> Bruce Williams, DVM
and here is the new info from Dr. Bruce Williams:
Hi, Anne, Dr. Bruce Williams just called with some updated information (since that past FHL post of his) on Lupus and Pemphigus for you.
Basically, the two are VERY hard to tell apart so your ferret COULD have either one.
The way to tell the two apart is to get an unbroken blister for histology work. That is because different layers of the skin are involved. Both are blistering disorders.
There are two forms of Lupus in mammals: Systemic Lupus which also involves the organs, and Discoid Lupus which involves the skin and can involve the bridge of the nose.
Treatment is HIGH DOSE STEROIDS, start at a minimum of an mg for each pound of weight if Prednisolone is being used. In the ones that does not work for immune suppressent medications are used.
Both of these are very rare autoimmune disorders in ferrets.