From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2007-05-31 19:55:42 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Ingesting estrogen from prey?
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
That is an intriguing question and one I can't recall being poised
before.
So far, my search is not proving useful, but I DID find this
fascinating abstract from Physiological Behavior in 1986:
> Physiol Behav. 1986;37(4):567-72.
>
>
> Annual rhythm and hormonal control of predatory behavior in female
> ferrets.
>
> Harrer S, Schmidt WJ.
> The predatory behavior of female ferrets shows seasonal
> fluctuations which appear to be affected by estradiol. Under
> natural lighting conditions in the laboratory the annual rhythm of
> the behavior was observed during anestrus, estrus, pregnancy,
> pseudopregnancy and lactating period. Females in heat failed to
> show predatory behavior whereas females in anestrus killed their
> prey. Exposure of anestrous ferrets to a prolonged illumination (LD
> 16:8) during winter induced an estrus which inhibited predatory
> behavior. When estrus was terminated with human chorionic
> gonadotropin (HCG), predatory behavior did not further regress as
> it did in control runs. Thus, during the period of estrus, when
> estrogen levels are presumably high, predatory behavior was
> inhibited. To prove a possible interdependency of estrogen and
> predatory behavior, estradiol-17 beta-valerat was chronically
> administered. This treatment induced the estrous cycle one day
> after the first injection. Inhibition of predatory behavior
> occurred following a delay of 28 days. Thus, fluctuations of
> estradiol levels are a factor which may affect fluctuations of
> predatory behavior in female ferrets.
> PMID: 3749320 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
with the full article available for purchase from
http://www.sciencedirect.com
There is a new human endocrinological disturbance and diet paper out
this month in Cad Saude Publica which may give some related general
info:
> Cad Saude Publica. 2007 May;23(5):1005-14.
>
>
> [Environmental exposure to endocrine disruptors with estrogenic
> activity and the association with pubertal disorders in children.]
>
> [Article in Portuguese]
> Alves C, Flores LC, Cerqueira TS, Toralles MB.
> Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador,
> Brasil.
> Endocrine disruptors are exogenous substances with adverse health
> effects in intact organisms or their progeny, secondary to changes
> in endocrine function. Recent years have witnessed constant reports
> of environmental factors with hormone-like effects causing pubertal
> or reproductive abnormalities in animals. The few cases proven to
> be associated with pubertal disorders in humans have been related
> to accidental exposure. Nevertheless, pediatricians and parents
> recommend suspending all possible estrogen-contaminated food,
> especially meat (poultry, beef) and soy products, when the child
> presents with a pubertal disorder. These recommendations, if not
> scientifically sound, may have deleterious consequences by
> eliminating sources of dietary protein and possibly delaying the
> investigation of other potential and treatable causes. On the other
> hand, not investigating potential side effects of these products
> could have similar harmful effects. The current article describes
> the main endocrine disruptors associated with pubertal disorders in
> humans and concludes that except for accidental exposure to high
> doses, more research is needed on the effects of chronic and low-
> dose exposures in altering human pubertal development.
> PMID: 17486224 [PubMed - in process]
The full article is available for free in Portuguese at
scielio.org
which is not opening right now.
It appears that sufficient melatonin might decrease the mineral
estrogenic effects of cadmium. Not exactly on-topic but related
enough that it might interest you since the routes by which
sufficient melatonin levels decrease a range of hormonal malignancies
is a hot topic:
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?
db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17439557&query_hl=7&i
tool=pubmed_docsum>
BTW, the body produces its own melatonin in response to enough
darkness, but there also are oral and implanted melatonin.
There are a range of estrogens and androgens and the body can change
them back and forth into each other depending on the needs at the
time. Estrogens perform over a 100 known functions in the body, and
dozens have been found for androgens. (That list has most likely
expanded since the last time I looked for both.) They interact with
a number of other hormones and are produced by a range of tissues,
not only reproductive tissues. There are some communications that
reproductive tissues manage which other tissues don't, though. That
is factor in the studies on adrenal tumor development.
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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