From:
sukiec@optonline.net
Date: 2006-06-04 21:38:31 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] it will be interesting over the years to learn more on maternal diet
To: ferrethealth@smartgroups.com
These are some segments from a Science News story about a harbor seal study=
. The data is preliminary but the diabetes comment caught my eye and made =
me wonder if eventually we will find the ferret mothers' diets during pregn=
ancy may play a role in risk rates for some ferret diseases. I realize tha=
t there are risks becoming intrigued about a hypothetical concept from work=
in another species on diabetes instead of insulinoma, so my curiosity come=
s with more than a grain of salt.
In the study they found that some of the heftier seals remained that way ev=
en when dietary fats were reduced, and the "runts" were unable to gain weig=
ht. In seals that really matters because blubber is essential to their hea=
lth but for some other mammals the opposite observation may have more healt=
h implications. Also, in some animals having a smaller size within the pop=
ulation grants advantages (for example, when there are periodic food restri=
ctions), but in seals the larger size offers further cold protection and po=
ssibly allows earlier reproductive maturity than smaller size does. So, al=
though in seals larger equals better that can not be generally assumed to b=
e the case for some other mammals. In ferrets it seems that smaller sizes =
and more gracile builds are often seen where there is a hunting history and=
larger ones with more robust builds where there is a fur farm history. In=
mammals in general a gracile build offers greater flexibility but less sta=
ble joints and thinner bones, with the opposite seen with robust builds, bu=
t variations on that score within a species size range are not as marked as=
comparing between species, such as gorillas (robust) to gibbons (gracile) =
within the apes.
START QUOTE
In other words, Polasek reported in April at a meeting of the American Phys=
iological Society in San Francisco, the seals' metabolism appears to have b=
een programmed prior to weaning.
That's troubling, she says, because it suggests that pups reared in years w=
hen food supplies are limited may fight their whole life to build up the en=
ergy stores of blubber that can sustain them during stress and periodic fam=
ine.
END QUOTE
It goes on to point out this consideration from *preliminary* research stud=
ies, but remember that the topic is only slightly studied so far:
START QUOTE
These are not the first data in mammals to suggest that fetal and neonatal =
environments can trigger subtle, permanent changes by turning on or silenci=
ng genes, Polasek says. For instance, other researchers' studies have shown=
that in laboratory animals, a greasy, high-fat diet during pregnancy can i=
ncrease the likelihood that an animal's offspring will develop diabetes. Th=
ere's also a small but growing body of data suggesting that a pregnant woma=
n's diet and what she feeds her baby during infancy may also exert lifelong=
effects on how the child's body metabolizes food, she adds.
END QUOTE
They also found behavioral differences. The smallest seals, no matter what=
the conditions, were more nervous, the largest were the most laid back, pe=
rhaps even lackadaisical, again, despite conditions. That reminds me of wh=
at we have personally seen a number of times in some of the most extremely =
different ferrets here from kithood on.
-- Sukie (not a vet, and not speaking for any of the below in my private po=
sts)
Recommended health resources to help ferrets and the people who love them:
Ferret Health List
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
AFIP Ferret Pathology
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
Miamiferrets
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
International Ferret Congress Critical References
http://www.ferretcongress.org
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