From:
"Kevin Farlee"
Date: 2010-01-07 06:24:40 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: adrenal: new to the site an need some ferret help
To: <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
[Moderator's Note:
Permission received from Dr. Johnson-Delaney to use her words.]
>> However, surgery is not the only
>> treatment and, in fact, contrary to popular belief, may not be the best
>> treatment. Surgery does not stop hormone production at the pituitary, and
so
>> long as hormones are being produced the disease continues, even if/when
both
>> glands are removed.
>
>That is entirely contrary to what every good ferret vet I've discussed
>this with has told me. Our original vet, when discussing why he would
>ligate the vena cava in most right adrenal surgeries, repeatedly
>stated that he needed to get the entire tumor to remove the disease
>entirely. He was most certainly convinced doing so was curative.
Cathy Johnson-Delaney, DVM, DABVP-Avian, DABVP-Exotic Companion Mammal,
has done much of the pioneering research in adrenal hyperplasia, its causes
and treatments.
One of the studies that she did started with a group of 26 adrenal ferrets.
They were arbitrarily divided into two groups: One was treated surgically,
and the other group
was treated exclusively with lupron. The ferrets were then followed for the
rest of their lives.
The last of these ferrets recently passed after something like 5 years. The
results of the study
are that although there were exceptions on both sides, with statistical
significance, the lupron group
had a better overall survival rate.
Each individual ferret is different, and there are
many good options. My point here is that surgery
is not always curative (if the disease recurs and the
ferret suffers, does it really matter whether the tissue
started out as an adrenal gland or a fat cell?) On the
other hand lupron or deslorelin addresses the trigger
which causes the tissue to react, and in many cases
gives a better quality and length of life.
Management is being advocated by Dr. Nico Schoemaker: suppression from
probably 4 months of age on is the key to preventing adrenal in the first
place. Debulking the glands after problems develop is only part of the
picture. With the coming of the deslorelin implants, the goal will be for
the ferret community to get the word out that all ferrets that are early
spay/neutered need to have that implant or start suppression at/just before
puberty. If adrenal disease develops, depending on other health conditions,
age, etc, the course of management of the disease is per individual - there
is no cure, just management. And what is best for one ferret may not be the
best for a good quality of life for the 5-7 year lifespan of that ferret.
Dr. Cathy Johnson-Delaney further comments:
"I would like to see the ferret associations do a lot to get purchasers of
ferrets from pet stores to get their ferrets into a veterinarian as soon as
they are purchased to finish their distemper vaccination series. As we can't
even protect ferrets from distemper, and we aren't seeing the ferrets
sometimes until they are well over a year of age, prevention of all sorts of
disease problems (including chronic ear mites) just isn't going to happen.
Work on the large pet store chains to stop telling purchasers the "ferrets
have had their shots" when in fact the ferret received one vaccination at 5
weeks of age and needs a series to be protected. As a practitioner I am
tired of seeing ferrets 1-2 yrs of age that have never been to a vet, still
have ear mites, coccidia, fleas, and are on cat food.
Until we get the mindset and education level of the ferret-owning public
raised, we are not going to be able to manage adrenal disease or even ear
mites. For veterinarians, the bar for education in ferret medicine has now
been raised: board certification in exotic companion mammals (via the
American Board of Veterinary Practitioners - Exotic Companion Mammal) is now
available. Achieving this certification allows a veterinarian to be called a
"small mammal i.e. rabbit, ferret, gpig, etc SPECIALIST". Without board
certification, you can only say you have a special interest in a species.
There are currently 8 veterinarians worldwide who passed the first
examination given in November of 2009. I hope the ferret-owning community
will encourage their veterinarians to consider this Board Certification. The
studying and continuing education necessary will keep any veterinarian on
top of all the literature, research, and new developments, along with all
the background anatomy, physiology and disease information. The process can
be found on the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians website as well
as on ABVP's. <http://www.aemv.org> www.aemv.org; <http://www.abvp.com>
www.abvp.com"
Kevin Farlee
Washington Ferret Rescue & Shelter
(whose ferrets participated in this and other studies)
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