In response to the person who asked about a urine test for diagnosing
Cushing's syndrome (Hyperadrenocorticism):
 
We just went over this today in one of my classes in vet school.  You can do
what's called a urinary cortisol/creatinine ratio.  A urine sample is taken
in the early morning and the cortisol and creatinine are measured.  The
normal ration (in a dog) should be less than 18 (x 10 to the sixth power).
A normal ratio will usually rule out hyperadrenocorticism but an abnormal
ratio does not necessarily mean that the animal has it because alot of other
things can cause ain increased ratio (stress, illness, etc.) I'm not sure if
this test is done in ferrets or not; all the info.  that I got was
pertaining to dogs.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Alice
[Posted in FML issue 2088]