Mary, Get a vet appointment and also ask for a prescription for the
liquid prep of Carafate which pharmacies and now also many vets carry.
That med is WONDERFUL!  (Do not give it with food and give it separate
from other meds as per the archive posts.
 
Dalitho: what were the pathology results?  What did the other adrenal
look like?  Were post-op Lupron-depot, melatonin, or both tried?  Were
antibiotics tried in case there was a secondary infection?  Were any
reproductive tissue remnants also checked for?  (Suggested reading:
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/adrenal.htm
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/melatonin.htm   (strongly advised for
those seeking to understand melatonin use)
 
Melatonin a ferret studies has not caused any reduction in growths, but
it has stopped increase in size of some; two somewhat similar meds,
Lupron and Suprelorin, have caused some growths to reduce in size.
BUT it is essential to remember that it is postulated that the most
responsive growths are probably also the safest types, and it is also
postulated that some of safer growths lef tin too long can become
malignant.  Surgery is still the preferred approach, but at time not all
of a gland winds up being removed, or the other may be kicking up but not
obviously diseased when looked at.  If both adrenals come out COMPLETELY,
or if one is atrophied, or if pieces remaining are not very productive
for essential adrenal products then it is essential to medicate.  If
they are out completely the medication will be used life-long.  Meds
typically used in that case to avoid a fatal Addisons Crisis are
Fludrocort/Florinef and Prednisolone, or Percorten and Prednisolone.
Lupron or Suprelorin, and melatonin work in different ways, and
prevention is among the applications being studied for each.  Because of
the negative impact that our artificial lighting in the night seems to
have there are studies on different ways to use or time these.
 
The reason that so many types of health problems are found in association
with a range of neural crest genetic variants (including panda headed
ferrets) if because those mutations affect early fetal cells which later
differentiate into a range of cell types.  Among the health problems seen
with assorted neural crest genetic variants in mammals are included:
circulatory or heart malformations if the mutation affects the early
cells of the cardiac neural crest.  If the mutation affects neural crest
cells after the neural crest and cardiac crest separate in the early
fetus then the circulatory system won't have problems but there can be
deafness, malformed jaws, innervation problems with the intestine, and
more.  Furthermore, the most likely common cause is the Kit Oncogene.
Oncogenes are associated with an increased rate of malignancy growth and
sometime of other growths.  When FML members were surveyed in an
UNscientific poll the life spans of ferrets with neural crest markings
were significantly shorter in large numbers and the need for old-age
testing began younger due to problems developing younger.  There are a
NUMBER of neural crest related health disorders and ferrets may have
more than one genetic route to these, nor are they defined easily within
only one mode of action/interaction or expression.  Because such early
fetal cells are involved there is variable expression and even if one
individual does not have some of the more serious health problems that
typically does not change the risk rate of the offspring having those
problems.  Among mammals there have been a few rare exceptions on that
score, but we are talking rare so caution is only logical and breeding
ferrets with neural crest genetic variants simply does not make sense.
DO read in: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ferret- Genetics/ ,
http://listserv.cuny.edu/archives/ferret-search.html , and
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org/
 
This page will better help people understand what autosomal actually
means since the definition was incorrect:
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/ghr/glossary/autosomal
 
Notice that by selecting the categories when you are looking at autosomal
dominant (one affected parent and one unaffected parent approximately
results in 50% affected offspring and 50% affected), or autosomal
recessive (two carrier parents result in approximately 50% carrier
offspring, 25% unaffected offspring, and 25% affected offspring are the
illustrations there.  AUTOSOMAL MERELY MEANS THAT THERE IS ONE COPY; it
does NOT mean that both parents must have it to have affected offspring
except when autosomal recessive and assuming that all neural crest
medical disorders in ferrets are autosomal recessive is at this point
premature.  You can easily do the squares to others which use simple
Mendelian Genetics (not all genetic medical disorders are that
uncomplicated): Make a grid and in the across put the suspected genetic
components for one site (locus) in one parent.  In the vertical put
them for the other parent.  Then just fill in the squares from what
is in the column and row.  Look at how those interact.
 
Here is a great portion of that site:
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/info=inheritance/show/inheritance_patterns
also go to:
http://www.genome.gov/glossary.cfm?key=autosomal%20dominant (and more
at that site)
and use the links there and
http://www.genome.gov/glossary.cfm
to go further
[Posted in FML issue 4868]