From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2007-09-12 22:48:47 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] some mustela studies not in ferrets but which may apply
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, ferret-l@LISTSERV.FERRETMAILINGLIST.ORG
Not ferrets but may be of interest since minks are closely related:
> Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2007 Sep 1; [Epub ahead of print]
>
> Links
> Chronic Oral Exposure to Bunker C Fuel Oil Causes Adrenal
> Insufficiency in Ranch Mink (Mustela vison).
>
> Mohr FC, Lasley B, Bursian S.
> Department of Veterinary Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology,
> School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA,
> 95616, USA
> Animals living in the near-shore marine environment are predisposed
> to contact with chemical contaminants through land- and ocean-based
> activities. The release of petroleum hydrocarbons into the marine
> environment is a stressor to this environment and its resident
> wildlife. The stress response to chemical threats is dependent on
> an intact hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which also may be a
> target to the effects of these chemicals. Ranch mink (Mustela
> vison) were used as surrogates for sea otters (Enhydra lutris) to
> examine the development of adrenal hypertrophy after chronic, oral
> exposure to low concentrations of bunker C fuel oil. Animals were
> fed three different concentrations of fuel oil (48, 520, and 908
> ppm) or mineral oil (control) for 60-62 days. At the end of the
> exposure, blood and fecal samples were collected and organs were
> weighed and examined microscopically. In all fuel oil groups,
> exposure resulted in adrenal hypertrophy, an adaptation suggestive
> of adrenal activation. However, concentrations of serum and fecal
> glucocorticoids and serum progesterone were not elevated over
> control values. Hematologic parameters and serum chemistries showed
> no changes consistent with increased adrenal activity. In addition,
> adrenal glands from animals fed the higher concentrations of fuel
> oil contained large numbers of heavily vacuolated cells. We
> conclude that petroleum hydrocarbons are inducing an adrenal
> insufficiency that leads to the adaptive enlargement of the gland.
> This would increase the susceptibility of fuel oil-exposed animals
> to the deleterious effects of other environmental stressors.
> PMID: 17763884 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
> Environ Toxicol Chem. 2007 May;26(5):988-97.
> Links
> Immunotoxicity of the commercial polybrominated diphenyl ether
> mixture DE-71 in ranch mink (Mustela vison).
>
> Martin PA, Mayne GJ, Bursian FS, Tomy G, Palace V, Pekarik C, Smits J.
> Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Burlington, Ontario
> L7R 4A6.
> Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are persistent,
> bioaccumulative, organohalogen compounds that are increasing
> exponentially in the Great Lakes (Canada/USA) biota. The present
> study was undertaken to examine the immunological effects of a
> commercial PBDE mixture in ranch mink (Mustela vison). Twenty-week-
> old mink (n = 10 mink/group) were exposed to 0, 1, 5, or 10 ppm of
> DE-71 through their diet for eight weeks. The phytohemagglutinin-
> induced cutaneous reaction, and antibodies specific to keyhole
> limpet hemocyanin conjugated to dinitrophenol were measured. Liver
> microsomal ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity also was
> measured. Organs were weighed and spleens were examined
> histologically. No differences were found in the PHA-induced skin
> response in exposed mink; mink in the two highest treatments
> exhibited significant increases in antibody production over control
> mink. Systemic toxicity was apparent; significant body weight
> reductions were found in mink exposed to 5 and 10 ppm of DE-71.
> Exposed mink had significantly larger relative spleen, adrenal, and
> liver masses than control mink. Spleens of mink exposed to 10 ppm
> of DE-71 had significantly increased germinal center development
> and incidence of B-cell hyperplasia. The activity of EROD was
> induced in all treated mink relative to controls and was positively
> associated with the liver somatic index. Hematocrit in mink from
> the two highest exposure groups was significantly lower than
> control mink. Percentage neutrophils increased and percentage
> lymphocytes decreased significantly in mink from the higher two
> dosage groups. Our findings have direct relevance to wild mink in
> the Great Lakes ecosystem, because mink are top predators of the
> aquatic food web, providing evidence for the vulnerability of this
> species to the effects of environmental PBDE mixtures.
> PMID: 17521147 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
I love it when places realize they should adopt out:
> J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2007 Jul;46(4):50-4.
> Links
> Outcomes of adoption of adult laboratory ferrets after gonadectomy
> during a veterinary student teaching exercise.
>
> Harms CA, Stoskopf MK.
> Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, North Carolina State
> University, Morehead City, NC, USA. craig_harms@ncsu.edu
>
> We surveyed 27 people who had adopted a total of 43 adult domestic
> ferrets after their use in a series of veterinary student surgery
> teaching laboratories to assess the success of those adoptions and
> to determine the rate of occurrence of common maladies of domestic
> ferrets after adult gonadectomy as compared with the usual practice
> of early-age gonadectomy. The adoptions took place 1-7 y prior to
> the survey. The response rate was 48% of adopters, covering 53% of
> the ferrets. Overall the success of former breeding and
> instructional ferrets as pets were rated as 91% good or excellent
> and 4.5% poor. Behavioral issues (for example, nipping, failure to
> litter train) were noted as the most common problems (36% of
> ferrets). Adrenal gland disease, insulinoma, or lymphosarcoma
> occurred in 23% of all ferrets and accounted for 57% of those
> ferrets that had died prior to the time of the survey.
> PMID: 17645296 [PubMed - in process]
If I recall right, didn't FML member shelters and the FML play a part
in those ferrets finding homes?
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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