From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-10-19 17:25:31 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] RE: Implant update... Melatek
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Author wrote:
> Do some ferrets have reactions to melatonin?
There are no definite cases so far that I know about.
Joanne is wondering about one her cherished Eve had, and there will be some testing about that, so hopefully the remains were set early enough in formalin that not much pathology info was lost (a well documented problem with ferrets, esp. of the GI tract which starts to have info lost within just hours, but with them the tissues really need to be set before 48 hours according to Dr. Bruce Williams who is as top notch an expert as you can get on that score. I have no idea about timing for any aspects of toxicology. Hopefully, there will be some info coming, but until the tests are done it remains an uncertainty, albeit an extremely rare one. Remember, too, that the heart dilation mentioned indicated the -- sadly not unusual -- reason to think that Eve may have had hidden heart disease. That is a problem which has even happened with some vets' own cherished ferrets, I am afraid.
There is one ferret in a study -- see the past issue of Journal of Exotic Mammal Medicine and Surgery if your vet gets it -- who was an extremely small female who appeared to have an unusually pronounced lethargy effect (and survived), but that remains debatable as a possible cause according to some vets I know who say they are not sure that there might not have been an alternative cause such as a chronic infection. So, maybe, maybe not. It opens the question whether small individuals with unusual susceptibility may be better served by lower doses, but remember that much higher doses have been used in a very large number of studies with no problems at all. Still, there is such a thing an some individuals having unusual and rare responses to a range of things.
Remember how many thousands have been given with nothing negative happening.
Another FML member mentioned death after an implant but that ferret was under treatment for adrenal growth caused anemia and that is highly inclined to be fatal so is the probable sad cause.
Remember, too, that the body MAKES its own melatonin normally in response to darkness, and that melatonin serves a wide range of functions and interactions that are desired for good health in the body.
Among humans there are a few known reasons to not give melatonin. I listed them recently. The only surprise that I can recall is that oral melatonin can worsen juvenile seizure disorders temporarily in human children and teenagers.
One change that I will be making to our own actions due to what i learned when looking things up is that if there is a chance of preexisting heart disease, I will give melatonin as long as our vet okays it because it might help several aspects of heart health according to multiple recent studies in other species, but I will not give that individual Lupron because new info on the human front is indicating that Lupron is better avoided when cardiac disease is present. So, as we do before surgery on such individuals I plan on ultrasounds before giving Lupron, just to be safest, even though it is not yet known if ferrets also have that vulnerability.
Does that help?
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