Message Number: FHL14791 | New FHL Archives Search
From: "SukieC"
Date: 2012-02-12 17:40:15 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] Re: Insulinoma Question
To: ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com


A slightly different note in its own post to reduce possible confusion.

Over 30 years ago when we first had ferrets insulinoma was almost never seen (incredibly rare), early adrenal disease (before the age of 5 years) had not been reported, and adrenal disease itself was not often seen

Commonly back then in the UK many ferrets often got bread and milk, and the kibbles available anywhere were lower protein ones than the ones often seen today.

Obviously, there were other health problems seen often.

Insulinoma and adrenal disease increased in reports from vets and owners with the advent of more and ferrets who did not have traditional markings and colorations.

Now, does that mean that there MIGHT be genetic vulnerability in the current ferrets which may be reduced with a high protein diet? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

It does, however, indicate that breeding for appearance rather than for health and longevity might have worsened genetic vulnerability to endocrinological diseases,

In fact, certain markings (at one point called the "star gene" before people realized that not just one gene nor one genetic locus is involved but multiple ones which can have additive and perhaps multiplicative effects) have been shown to be related to how much epinephrin (adrenaline) is pumped out from the adrenal cortex and how fast it is pumped out, hence a marking category with multiple genetic origins in the neural crest which can indicate animals and humans who are more tame, but also are much more vulnerable to a suite of medical problems. So, at least one of the category of fancies (the spotted ones, the mitted ones, the pandas and blazes...) already has a demonstrated adrenal function change.

So, those of us who were around years ago know that a high carb diet then did not go hand in hand with high levels of insulinoma since that medical problem was almost never seen then, but with all the fancies these days there is the question how many of them might have genetic vulnerabilities and which of the fancies might be more inclined to which of the vulnerabilities and how to address that when it occurs.



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