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J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2006 Dec 1;229(11):1743-8.

Effects of melatonin administration on the clinical course of
adrenocortical disease in domestic ferrets.

Ramer JC, Benson KG, Morrisey JK, O'brien RT, Paul-Murphy J.
Department of Surgical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706.

Objective-To evaluate the effect of oral administration of melatonin on
clinical signs, tumor size, and serum steroid hormone concentrations in
ferrets with adrenocortical disease. Design- Noncontrolled clinical
trial. Animals-10 adult ferrets with clinical signs of adrenocortical
disease (confirmed via serum steroid hormone concentration
assessments). Procedures-Melatonin (0.5 mg) was administered orally
to ferrets once daily for 1 year. At 4-month intervals, a complete
physical examination; abdominal ultrasonographic examination (including
adrenal gland measurement); CBC; serum biochemical analyses; and
assessment of serum estradiol, androstenedione, and
17alpha-hydroxyprogesterone concentrations were performed. Serum
prolactin and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentrations were
evaluated at the first, second, and last examinations, and serum
cortisol concentration was evaluated at the first and last
examinations. Results-Daily oral administration of melatonin greatly
affected clinical signs of adrenocortical disease in ferrets; changes
included hair regrowth, decreased pruritus, increased activity level
and appetite, and decreased vulva or prostate size. Mean width of the
abnormally large adrenal glands was significantly increased after the
12-month treatment period. Recurrence of clinical signs was detected in
6 ferrets at the 8-month evaluation. Compared with pretreatment values,
serum 17alpha- hydroxyprogesterone and prolactin concentrations were
significantly increased and decreased after 12 months, respectively.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Results suggest that melatonin is a
useful, easily administered, palliative treatment to decrease clinical
signs associated with adrenocortical disease in ferrets, and positive
effects of daily treatment were evident for at least an 8-month period.
Oral administration of melatonin did not decrease adrenal gland tumor
growth in treated ferrets.
PMID: 17144819 [PubMed - in process]

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Sukie (not a vet)
Current FHL address:
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Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/

[Posted in FML 5449]