http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm?gid=1423922&messageid=1234
 
Megaesophagus is still somewhat of a mystery disease in the ferret.  The
distribution is primarily male, primarily middle-aged to older, and there
are currently no known triggers for it in ferrets, as opposed to dogs,
where it may be related to myasthenia gravis or coincidental to thymoma,
a tumor of the thymus which shares some antigenic similarities to the
acetylcholine receptors of the esophageal muscle (which causes the body
to turn on the muscle as well).
 
Currently therapy is simply careful management, feeding of a slurry in
most cases, and feeding from an elevated platform.  I was under the
impression that Propulsid was unavailable on the market.  How did you
secure it?
 
Megaesophagus is generally a progressive disease with a poor prognosis.
Most animal eventually succumb to aspiration pneumonia or ulceration and
yeast infection of the esophagus, as it empties poorly into the stomach.
 
The definitive diagnosis is rather easy - a small amount of barium given
by mouth will reveal a greatly dilated esophagus on X-ray.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3895]