>From:    "Shelley R. Abare" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: kiki's lupron shot
>So is that a normal reaction to a Lupron shot?  Or was he just
>stressed and over heated like I thought?
 
Very, very unusual.  I have never heard of a reaction to Lupron other
than a slight redness at the injection site in one ferret.  But I'm sure
someone will respond that their ferret has had a reaction to Lupron.
 
If Kiki has never before received Lupron, then I don't see how it could
have been that.  Although it might occasionally appear that an allergic
reaction has occurred on the first exposure to an allergen, there must
have been a prior contact in order for the immune system to be poised to
react in this way.  So the question is, has Kiki ever had Lupron before?
 
>Do people react to Lupron, or does Lupron cause an
>temporary increase in the male hormone of ferrets?
 
Yes, a ferret's hormone production does temporarily increase after the
first Lupron injection, but only for several hours.  Lupron stimulates
the pituitary and this causes the pituitary to increase its output of
the hormones LH and FSH.  LH stimulates the adrenals into increasing sex
steroid production.
 
After several hours of the sustained presence of GnRH (Lupron is
synthetic GnRH, i.e. gonadotropin release hormone), the pituitary becomes
desensitized to GnRH and its output of LH and FSH ceases.  This is how
Lupron works to produce a reduction in adrenal symptoms.  No more LH
means no more stimulation to the adrenals and as a result, the adrenals
stop their overproduction of sex steroids that cause the symptoms we see.
 
For the ferrets,
Mike
 
* Michael Janke, [log in to unmask]
* South Florida Ferret Help Line, 305-385-6750
*
* Website:  http://www.miamiferret.org
* Adrenal/Insulinoma web site: http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc
*
* Ferret Health List: http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
[Posted in FML issue 4725]