Deslorelin used as a prevention of adrenal

[msav]

When my first ferret was diagnosed adrenal. we had this implant put in. This was experimental at the time as this has to of been 4 years ago. At the same time the vet was explaining a theory that the implants can be used to prevent adrenal disease. I told him we will see how it goes with him and will make a decision about the prevention of the others once we see how it worked. well after couple of months, our champagne ferret turned Orange and he got a new nickname (cheeto boy)  He was as orange as a cheeto. by the third month he had regrown his hair on his tail and virtually all signs of Adrenal were gone. He became more active and was becoming the normal ferret we once knew. 

The next year when it was time to get the new implant we had all of our ferrets implanted. our 5 year old cheeto go this second and all my other got there first. my 3 year old at that time was just starting to have thinning hair on his tail but our two 1 year old ferrets of course showed no signs.  my 3 year old after about 2 months grew all his tail hair back and has been great ever since. 

About 6 months ago a strange behavior with my 1 year old ferrets (now now 4 years old and who have had there implants replaced now for the 3rd time)  they have started to become extremely aggressive toward his siblings that previously have been best friends for 4 years. I have had to separate those two from the rest of them. 

when i say extreme aggression. the male at first sign of any other ferret will immediately bit the ferret on the neck and won't let go. He pierces the skin and draws blood. We have always stopped it before he shakes and tears but we know that will be coming if we let it go. He reacts the same no matter what ferret he come in contact with. 

The female since she is small cannot dominate the other ferret but she does the same thing. she will eventually get into a brawl and the other ferret will chase her off. she will them continue to attack over and over again. 

I may be in the minority here with using Deslorelin as a preventive treatment, but I cannot ignore the coincidence of this happening to both of the ferrets that were first treated at 1 year old. I brought this up to the vet and he acted like he never heard of it. He said maybe they were adrenal and that the inplant wore off and suggested we give them another one which we did. knowing that this has to do with hormones in the ferrets I really do think that the Deslorelin it causing this aggression.  

Has anyone done the prevention implant and are they experiencing similar behavior?  

One more question They say that one of the signs of adrenal disease is aggression. Now the question is, does this aggression happen just to other ferrets or to their owners as well. Our male is also deaf and he has never ever bitten us once to this day. He is the sweetest boy except to other ferrets. 

 
This is a long read  Thanks for any input you can provide. 

Mark

[dorena261-Natalia]

My females both have implants, and i'm thinking to get my Oscar implanted. Older when she was 2 yo and the other one was 7 moths old. This younger is 2,5 yo now, no aggression so far. I know lots of ferrents in my country with older implanted ferrets, still no aggression.

[fretki]

I have a female (neutered), she got a des implant just because of a persistent rat tail and her rather aggressive attitude towards other ferrets, so no confirmed adrenal issues... the behavioral issue cleared up with an additional melatonin implant

are your ferrets descented?
I expirienced more aggression with ferrets when anal gland problems are involved, so just a question out of curiosity

[msav]

all my ferrets are descented.

to make myself a bit more clear.
Inplant history

male was implanted at 1 year old, now Showing signs of aggression (current age 4)
female was implanted at 1 year old, now Showing signs of aggression (current age 4)
Male was implanted at 3 years had early thinning hair, no signs of aggression (current age 6)
male was implanted at 3.5 years no ADL signs, Never shown aggression (rainbow bridge)
Male was implanted at 5 years showed many signs of ADL, never shown aggression (rainbow bridge)


so I am only experiencing the aggression with the 2 early implants at 1 year old that are currently 4 years old. This may be something that happens after 3 years or 3 implants or when given to ferrets early when they are showing no signs of ADL.

[fretki]

Deslorelin/suprelorin is a very common treatment for adrenal issues and I never heard of issues with aggression from the ferret communitiy here, also myself, alltough half my ferrets (4 out of 8) have the implant, never encountered problems on that level... but I have to admit they all got implanted at older age (but we also neuter the ferrets later than the early age you have to accept when having mostly mill ferrets)... for example my vet don't start with a preventative treatment before the age of 4.

I only know of problems when using it as lifetime chemical neutering, I've already seen very aggressive females but there were cancer issues involved: ovarian cancer (which is a bit more unlikely to happen with surgical neutering).

Have you talked to your vet about it?

[msav]

The vet seemed to indicate that the implant was wearing off, however they have never been Adrenal so where would the aggression come from. He recommended that we put another implant in and we did.

[Heather]

When using DES as a prevention, the implant is supposed to be re-applied or administered annually. It is not a one shot deal, just in case anyone was thinking that this might be a one shot solution to adrenal. It's not. If you want to use the DES implant as a preventative (the information is still ongoing and being collected) then the implant must be applied every year at that date. It is suggested that you have your little ones implanted in the Jan time frame to prevent the initial hormonal surge from happening (before their first birthday) What is really unknown is the ferrets who are implanted after this time as a preventative. It has been documented that adrenal starts after the first hormonal surge after an alter, so as soon as your little ones are altered then your ferret is being set up for adrenal. Remember too, that lighting also has a huge effect on your ferrets.
If you're using DES as a chemical castration on the other hand, you can wait for it to wear off and then re-administer or apply it annually. If using it as an adrenal treatment, then it must be re-administered about 9 months after application. I've found that it doesn't last the full 9 months and I'm seeing break through symptoms. I re-administer every 6 months and have had considerable success with it being applied in this manner.
ciao

[goingpostal]

There hasn't really been enough ferrets implanted proactively and followed up every year like this to make a guess at what's happening. Personally I have been of the wait until symptoms show to treat, simply because I don't know how much good it is doing to basically push it back and the long term effectiveness, some ferrets seem to stop responding to meds, their bodies adjust or something and it's no longer an effective treatment. Question, the two aggressive ones aren't doing it to each other? I've had a couple who were aggressive towards other ferrets due to adrenal, both with treatment and without, des stopped the behavior in a male, but doesn't seem to be working on my female, she's on her 3rd implant as well and is separated from my other. I'm going to try adding a melatonin implant and see if that makes a difference but it may be her disease is too far gone.

[msav]

I am just basically here to gather data so I can make the decision to continue the implants or to not continue them, I also have the decision to make to implant the 6 month old and the 2 8 week olds we just got.

And yes the implant have been followed up every December since the first implants

The male is much larger than the female so he attacks her. The female does not attack everyone just the 6 month old and the 2 8 week olds. ( this could be normal as they have not been fully introduced) the aggressive male even attacks the 6 year old, who my female is still best friends with. so the male is definitely affected most by this aggression.

[miamiferret2]

remember something, every vet I know that recommends using Deslorelin to prevent adrenal recommends doing it as early as possible (under 6 months old) because otherwise, you may just be treating early adrenal. a ferret that is over 6 months old can already have abnormal cells present in the adrenal glands. this is sad but true. I know of quite a few people with early neutered ferrets who have shown adrenal signs at just 1 year old. Look at Hurricanekatt's Koda. he was already showing adrenal signs at a very young age.

I use deslorelin and I started at 5 months old. I keep up with the implant every January. Sonny is on his 4th implant. he received his 4th this past Saturday. so far so good! (knock wood). no aggression, beautiful coat, good muscle mass, good poops, good appetite.


here is an article from Dr. Cottrell:

Preventing Adrenal Disease in the Ferret

by Deborah Cottrell DVM

New evidence suggests that the simple fact of spaying or castrating our pet ferrets may be the root cause of adrenal disease, and age of spaying or castrating is not necessarily a significant factor. Performing the procedure at six to twelve months of age delays the onset of disease, but does not prevent it. Having unaltered pet ferrets is not a practical solution for many reasons.

This unique aspect of ferret physiology is only just starting to be understood. When the ferret's reproductive organs are removed, the adrenal glands take over and begin manufacturing large amounts of sex hormones to make up the difference. This causes enlargement of the adrenal glands, and at this stage is called "adrenal gland hypertrophy." As time goes on, the gland undergoes changes to become a tumor called an "adrenal adenoma" and may also progress to a more malignant tumor called an "adrenal adenocarcinoma."

The best way to prevent adrenal disease is by use of Deslorelin and/or melatonin implants under the skin.

It is extremely important to note that ferrets who are implanted with Deslorelin prior to one year of age have the best chance of never developing adrenal disease. Therefore, we recommend the following protocol:

Between the ages of 6 months and 1 year:

Deslorelin implant

Melatonin implant

One year later:

Metabolic Blood Screen

Deslorelin implant

Melatonin Implant

After this, melatonin is administered every six months, and deslorelin yearly.

[miamiferret2]

and you MUST continue implanting every year! like clock work! do not skip an implant! if you live in the northern hemisphere, you should implant every January.

[miamiferret2]

male was implanted at 1 year old, now Showing signs of aggression (current age 4)
female was implanted at 1 year old, now Showing signs of aggression (current age 4)

these two may have already had abnormal cells in their adrenal glands at the time they were implanted. just because a 1 year old is not showing signs of adrenal disease, does not mean that they are not early adrenal. often times, they will not show outward signs until those tumors are already advanced.

the other 3 were most definitely implanted too late to prevent anything IMO.

see article from dr. cottrell --although Dr. jerry murray told me to get that implant in before 6 months old. he told me to do it "asap" do not wait. that seems to be what the vets are recommending for the early neuters.

[miamiferret2]

another opinion. this one written by dr. jerry murray:

A post by Dr Jerry Murry

There has been some recent posts about how to
prevent adrenal gland disease, and there seems to
be some confusion on how some of the adrenal
medications work and how they might prevent adrenal
gland disease. I'll try to clear up some of that confusion.

Lupron and Deslorelin both work at the pituitary level to
stop the production of LH. Without LH there is no stimulation
to the adrenal glands. Without the stimulation from LH, the adrenal
gland stops producing hormones. Plus cases of hyperplasia (and
possibly even adenomas) may become smaller and may even return
to normal size with Lupron or Deslorelin treatment. However they
do not work directly on the adrenal glands. Melatonin works a little
differently. It works at the hypothalamus level to reduce LH production.
It may also work directly on the adrenal glands thru melatonin receptors
on the adrenal glands! This helps to prevent the adrenal gland from getting
bigger.
As far as using these products to prevent adrenal gland disease, starting
a juvenile ferret on them may prevent that ferret from getting adrenal
disease.
Likewise starting an adult ferret on them before they have signs of adrenal
gland disease may prevent them from getting adrenal disease as they
get older. However it requires Lupron monthly, year round, for the rest of
its life and not just one dose each spring.
As far as a genetic problem and adrenal gland disease, preliminary work
done by Dr Wagner at the U of Pitt has shown a defect in a tumor suppressor
gene (P53). This defect causes a loss of tumor suppression, so tumors
can form much easier and grow much bigger. He presented this info at
the symposium in Portland.
Hope that helps clear up some of the confusion.
Jerry Murray, DVM

[msav]

thank you for all your great information. it confirms what both of the vets told me. I am thinking that the implant is not causing the aggression. I will have to further investigate to find out what is causing this sudden aggressive behavior

[Deleted]

Jan 15, 2014 16:47:15 GMT -5 miamiferret2 said:

remember something, every vet I know that recommends using Deslorelin to prevent adrenal recommends doing it as early as possible (under 6 months old) because otherwise, you may just be treating early adrenal. a ferret that is over 6 months old can already have abnormal cells present in the adrenal glands. this is sad but true. I know of quite a few people with early neutered ferrets who have shown adrenal signs at just 1 year old. Look at Hurricanekatt's Koda. he was already showing adrenal signs at a very young age.  

I suppose the need for earliest possible implantation relates to ferrets castrated early (few months of age), right?

As for the whole ones, full testicle drop and development has to be done prior to implanting procedure for males and minimum of full 8 months age for females. Just checking since I have two 7,5 months old whole scheduled for implants when time comes. I would be able to post some impressions after they have their implants.

We currently have 1 implanted ferret Ram, he is 8,5 yrs old, on insulinoma meds (methylprednisolone) and due for his 2nd implant tomorrow. After being with implant for a year, we checked blood hormone levels and they were still in normal range. Some 2 months after that he started to present signs of partial hair loss and was very nervous and agitated, slept less, being jumpy. We checked hormones again, they were out of normal range so we scheduled another implant.

Although, I cannot relate hair loss when having adrenal ferret on methylprednisolone because it causes hair loss after some year and a half in use (in all of our cases, we've had 8 of those).