From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2007-05-21 19:58:37 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Please read: Is it DIM? Things just keep getting more confusing...
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
A muscle biopsy is easy for the ferret, but not knowing if what is present is DIM or not is
hard on the ferret.
Some of the things which have been thought to be DIM but were not include systemic
infection, other causes of sepsis, lymphoma, a case of meningitis, and even two that
became obviously canine distemper once they progressed more.
The treatment for DIM is very different from the treatment for those other things so
knowing if it is or is not DIM ASAP is essential for the chances of survival.
For a parallel think of a ferret who shows symptoms of possible blood sugar symptoms.
Most will have insulinoma, but there are other diseases which can look like insulinoma but
are much more severe such as either lymphoma or (worse) carcinoma in the pancreas, OR
there could even be the OPPOSITE because diabetes can look like insulinoma, so a person
HAS to test! If you treat for insulinoma but diabetes is present then organ and neural
damage can occur. You have to know WHAT you are treating.
It is the same with symptoms that could be DIM. If instead there is a systemic infection
then that could take off worse due to not receiving the meds it needs, but if there is DIM
and the right meds are not started in time the window is lost.
There have been a LOT of "claims" of DIM and even of "cured DIM" which never had the
muscle biopsy so it isn't even know what the ferrets actually had.
Honestly, it is best to stick with the advice of those who have done rigorous study, which
means being sure to follow the advice of the veterinary experts involved in this study
because they are talking about proven cases of DIM and rigorous testing with incredibly
careful work:
BEGIN QUOTE
Vet Pathol. 2007 Jan;44(1):25-38.
Myofasciitis in the domestic ferret.
Garner MM,
Ramsell K,
Schoemaker NJ,
Sidor IF,
Nordhausen RW,
Bolin S,
Evermann JF,
Kiupel M.
Northwest ZooPath, Monroe, WA, USA. zoopath@aol.com
Since late 2003, an inflammatory disease of muscle and fascia has been diagnosed in
several ferrets at Northwest ZooPath, and this report describes the condition in 17 ferrets.
It is a disease of young ferrets, characterized by rapid onset of clinical signs, high fever,
neutrophilic leukocytosis, treatment failure, and death (or euthanasia). Gross lesions
include atrophy of skeletal muscle; red and white mottling and dilatation of the
esophagus; and splenomegaly. Histologically, moderate to severe suppurative to
pyogranulomatous inflammation is in the skeletal muscle and the fascia at multiple sites,
including esophagus, heart, limbs, body wall, head, and lumbar regions. Myeloid
hyperplasia of spleen and/or bone marrow also is a prominent feature. Ultrastructural
lesions include mitochondrial swelling, intracellular edema, disruption of myofibrils and Z
bands. Bacterial and viral cultures, electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and
polymerase chain reaction were negative for a variety of infectious agents. The clinical
presentation and distribution of lesions suggests that polymyositis in domestic ferrets is
likely a distinct entity. The etiopathogenesis if this condition is not known.
END QUOTE
Full text:
http://www.vetpathology.org/cgi/content/full/44/1/25
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
mailto:ferrethealth-digest@yahoogroups.com
mailto:ferrethealth-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
ferrethealth-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/