From:
"Sukie Crandall"
Date: 2008-10-10 00:14:33 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Is it too early for Ferretonin
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
Info on melatonin/ Ferretonin dosing is also in the archives:
search terms
Ferretonin and mg
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/SG15754
Notice how much was used in testing without adverse effects:
BEGIN QUOTE
Hi Joanne,
Sorry to hear about your ferret's unexpected death.
The autopsy showed a dilated heart. This is called
dilated cardiomyopathy, and it is very common in older
ferrets. Thus in a ferret that is almost 8 years old, it is
not surprising that she had dilated cardiomyopathy.
Dilated cardiomyopathy leads to congestive heart failure.
Congestive heart failure leads to fluid retention and fluid
and blood in the lungs. The autopsy also showed blood in her
lungs. Therefore the cause of death was congestive heart failure
from the dilated cardiomyopathy. The real question is why
did she go down hill so fast after the implant. Perhaps it was
the stress of going to the vet and receiving the injection that
caused her to decompensate so quickly.
Now to clear up some of the confusion about the implants,
Ferretonin (the ferret implant) contains 5.4 mg of melatonin, which
is the exact same amount as the male mink implant.
When they did toxicity studies for FDA approval, they gave mink kits
78.2 mg, which worked out to be roughly 80 mg/kg for the male
kits and 124 mg/kg for the female kits. They were 8-10 weeks old,
and they received 14.5 times the amonut of melatonin that is
in the ferret melatonin implant.
When they did the adults, they gave them 100 mg of melatonin.
There was no sign of toxicity or adverse reaction in these studies,
except the male kits gained an average of 324 grams more than
the control group. There was also no toxicity on histopath, which
included the heart. In the field studies, more than 31,000 mink were
implanted with no signs of toxicity or adverse reactions.
In a study conducted in New Zealand, ferrets were given 8 mg
melatonin implants, and some received a second implant the
following year. No adverse reactions reactions during this 16 month
long ferret study.
Hope that answers some of your questions,
Jerry Murray, DVM
END QUOTE
The Archives is such a useful treasure chest.
The reason why the timing for Lupron should be tight enough is similar
to the reason to not give 24 hour Lupron: THE INITIAL BURST OF
PITUITARY ACTIVITY (and in this case also some time without
control before it).
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/24hr_lupron.htm
BEGIN QUOTE
In fact, the use of the 24 hr. Lupron probably makes the adrenal disease
worse because you don't get much therapeutic effect, but you are still
getting that initial high pituitary activity when the Lupron is first administered.
This initial burst of pituitary activity is of little consequence when it is followed
by cessation of pituitary activity. But, with the 24 hr. Lupron, you get only the
initial burst of pituitary high activity -- followed by normal pituitary activity.
It's like adding a splash of gasoline to a fire."
END QUOTE
Those should help.
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
------------------------------------
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/