From:
"Karen McCabe"
Date: 2009-04-28 20:54:47 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: What should I do?
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com
--- In ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com, Caitlyn Martin <caitlynmmartin@...> wrote:
>
> The only cure for adrenal disease is surgery.
I disagree. Even surgery is not a cure. With adrenal disease the problem actually stems from the brain, where the pituitary gland produces hormones that stimulate the ovaries and testes in unaltered ferrets. In altered ferrets, where there are no ovaries or testes to receive these hormones, the adrenal glands become the recipients. This causes the hormone production from the adrenal glands which leads to disease of the glands. Surgery does nothing to stop the pituitary from producing hormones, the brain continues pumping them out and any tissue not removed continues to be stimulated. Fat tissue can also respond and start producing sex hormones, so even when both glands are removed the problem is still not solved.
In my own experience, even ferrets that have had both glands removed have not been cured. In fact, I've seen them actually worsen following gland removal without additional treatment. On the other hand, those that have had followup treatment (ie; lupron) after surgery and those that have had medicinal treatment (again, lupron) alone, no surgery, have done quite well.
Karen McCabe
http://www.cinnamonsprite.net
[Moderator:
Research long ago indicated that the brains are
just doing the normal things that ferret brains do
with changes of season and more light exposure.
What is different is that the adrenals can't signal
the pituitary to reduce the levels of LH and FSH,
unlike reproductive tissues which can. Too long
exposure to too high levels of LH eventually causes
hyperplasia. So the irritation cause comes from the
pituitary but the pituitary is functioning as it should
under the conditions.]
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