>Since I look at his tail everday I got to wondering about something else
>and thought I would ask here.  Is there any correlation between the
>blackheads and adrenal?  I ask since so many people get skin problems
>during their teen years and people always blame hormonal things I started
>to wonder if the blackheads where a "red flag" of sorts and that I should
>have him checked.  The more I think about it the more I think it's related
>in someway but I'm never seen anything like this suggested on the FML.
 
Deer Connie:
 
You bring up a very good point.  Blackheads, also known as comedones
are the end result of follicular atrophy, which may be initiated by
hyperadrenocorticism in a wide variety of domestic species.  A comedone
is an atrophic follicle which is filled with keratin debris and secretion
from the attached sebaceous glands.  Atrophic follicles can't produce
hair shafts, but they can conjure up flakes of keratin.  AS the follicles
distend, they accumulate secretion of adjacent glands, allof which results
in a blackhead.
 
Ferrets with adrenal disease can develop blackheads, but so can ferrets
with seasonal shedding.  Follicles normally go through a seasonal cycle
of development and atrophy without excessive estrogen, so it is veryt
difficult to say "adrenal or no adrenal" when the blackheads are on the
tail.  If they are on other areas of the ferret you can make a much
better case for adrenal disease.
 
I tend not to make therapeutic decisions based on tail changes - hair and
skin changes on othe parts of the body are a much more accurate reflector
of adrenal disease.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
[Posted in FML issue 3197]