From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2005-12-02 20:42:52 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] RE: insulinoma ferret/keeps seizing at vet--sorry long
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
Causes of seizures:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/browse.php?msg=SG7823
which is a past vet post reads:
BEGIN QUOTE
Top cause is low blood glucose from insulinoma, others are primary nervous
system diseases infection (bacterial, fungal, parasitic, viral etc),
neoplasia (cancer), stroke, toxins, inflammatory causes, the list is
endless.
Depends on the cause, corn syrup initially then dextrose to stabilize and
finallly pred to maintain for insulinoma. Pred for inflammatory causes.
If seizure cause not determined we sometimes use phenobarbitol.
Yes I believe menigitis can be involved, because it is not always
exclusively spinal.
Hope this helps some, but you may find more answers in the archives.
Dr. Sue
END QUOTE
I recall one with diabetes discussed here, too, who was first just treated like there was insulinoma but when problems worsened was tested and found to have the opposite problem. (BTW, did you know that some recent research indicates that Alzheimers in humans *may* be a disease similar to diabetes with multiple aspects being traced to low brain insulin levels. It was only recently that it was even figured out that the brain has and uses insulin.)
Has the ferret been vaccinated? Canine Distemper and rabies are both potential causes of seizures.
Has the ferret been tested for ADV? ADV, also called hypergammaglobulinemia and a few other things, can have versions with neuro symptoms. The test is easy. It is entirely possible for an ADV positive ferret who has the neural symptoms to be thought to have insulinoma if testing for both is lacking according to something i read a few months ago.
Is Prednisone or Prednisolone being used? Prednisolone skips the liver processing step, so even if the blood sugar is fine if there is an inflammatory process happening Prednisolone may help.
See also:
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/browse.php?msg=YG9119
but this is a MUCH older post before some things were published
BEGIN QUOTE
There are other causes of seizures, in ferrets - they are just very
rare - epilepsy, infectious diseases of the meninges and brain, even
brain tumors. HOwever, they can be the devil to properly diagnose,
as what goes on inside the cranium doesn't often show up on routine
tests.
Single isolated seizures, while distressing to owners, are usually of
little consequence to the ferret. The key is that they don't go on
for extended periods of time or extremely frequently, as they can
result in anoxia, as seizuring animals breathe very erratically.
At this point, I would monitor very closely for signs of any other
neurologic imapirment or other seizres - let's not rule out the
possibility of an insulinoma on the basis of a single isolated test -
it's one of those things that should remain in the back of your head
for future reference.
END QUOTE
If it is certain from blood tests that this is insulinoma (which causes seizures when the blood glucose drops too low but NOT when the blood sugar is fine) causing the seizures instead of a different cause then you can try several things:
Prednisolone instead of Prednisone to skip the liver processing step if not already being done.
Prednisolone given three times a day instead of two since the time of action is said to be about 9 hours.
Diazoxide.
Dietary sugars.
-- Sukie (not a vet)
Ferret Health List co-moderator
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