This is in response to Dr. Caine's response to my posting about pancreatic
enzyme a few days ago.
 
Dr. Caine posted:
>To Leigh: I have heard of other vets using Pancreazyme in ferrets, but
>I admit it doesn't make much sense to me.  It is a product meant to
>supplement animals with inadequate production of pancreatic digestive
>enzymes (this has nothing to do with insulinomas which involve different
>pancreatic cells).  Unless ECE, an intestinal blockage, or other diseases
>some how diminish the pancreass' ability to make those enzymes (which I
>have never heard described in ferrets), it shouldn't work.  A good question
>for a pathologist like Dr. Williams.  But if Pancreazyme works for you, I'm
>all for it...
 
I think it's important to remember that none of these organ systems work
alone.  While it may be true that ECE or an intestinal blockage might not
damage the pancreas, it is true that these problems will damage the
intestinal lining.  Food does not go THROUGH the pancreas on its way
through the digestive system, but pancreatic enzymes are delivered to the
small intestine.  This occurs through a complex system of biofeedback.  The
small intestine must produce some kind of signal to tell the pancreas when
to produce these secretions.  This (from what I understand) is accomplished
by secretion of a particular hormone from endocrine cells found within the
epithelia (inside lining) of the small intestine.  I think it is plausible
that damage to the epithelia of the small intestine, which would occur with
both ECE and intestinal blockage, could interfere with this feedback loop.
In addition I beleive that the secretion of the hormone that stimulates the
pancreas to release digestive enzymes is itself stimulated by the expansion
of the small intestine as food passes through.  In the case of intestinal
blockage removal, scar tissue might cause the intestine to lose elasticity
which would decrease the stretching response.  These problems might be
succesfully treated by dosing the animal with pancreatic enzymes.  Although
I'll agree that other damage to the intestines could cause problems in
secretion of other enzymes and hormones that would not be treated by this
method, but it might be just enough to give the animal a little better
digestion to help it out.
 
So in essence I'm agreeing with you that it wouldn't help the ferret unless
the damage somehow decreased the pancreas' ability to produce these enzymes,
I'm just trying to demonstrate that it could be the case that these problems
could actually effect the production and delivery of pancreatic enzymes to
the intestine.
 
Leigh (who thought she was done with Animal Physiology when she took the
final a few years ago!)
[Posted in FML issue 2663]