From:
AFERRETVET@cs.com
Date: 2006-11-14 03:23:15 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Vet input
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Hi Nelli
Hopefully this will go thru this time.
You bring up many good questions. There are many factors
to consider when deciding whether to use medical treatment
or to do surgery for adrenal gland disease in ferrets. Thus it
is best to talk with your vet when deciding what option would be
best for your pet ferret. You might also want to consult with the
vet school in Budapest (Dr Huszenicza, gyhuszen@univet.hu).
Hopefully the vet school can do right adrenal gland surgery and
can treat an Addison's ferret if they remove both adrenal glands.
Now that your ferret's left adrenal gland has been removed, you
might want to start your ferret on medical treatment to help
prevent the right adrenal gland from becoming a problem in the
near future (ie Suprelorin or Lupron with melatonin).
Lupron and Suprelorin are both very similar products, and they
both work by the same mechanism of action at the pituitary level.
It is too early to tell if one works better than the other! The main
difference is Suprelorin is a veterinary product, and it costs a lot
less than Lupron which is a human product.
Melatonin is different and it works at the hypothalamus level and
directly on the adrenal glands and several other organs such as
the prostate, mammary glands, and on the bone marrow.
It is safe and beneficial to use either Lupron or Suprelorin with
melatonin.
Hope that clears up some of the confusion,
Jerry Murray, DVM
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