I am looking forward to learning more about the references on ferrets and carbohydrates, and insulinoma and carbohydrates. Bibliographies rock. The most recent write-up that I have read on work on the insulinoma hypothesis for ferrets by highly respected ferret veterinary expert: Dr Mark Finkler, JEMM&S, volume 2.2, Dec 2004. Although he does tend to believe it he is very fair, very professional, and makes a strong point of letting people know how and why the various components are (or were -- if knowledge on some of them has significantly improved in the last two years) hypothetical. He also pointed out that the chain of hypotheses given began with diabetes work in cats, not insulinoma in ferrets. I have since read multiple articles calling into question the effect of carbohydrates in relation to diabetes on-set. That is a question which is being highly debated. Heck, it is being hotly debated. In fact, I know that some of those more recent articles (and at least two backing the hypothesis which I also shared) are in the archives so those who want to can find them there. There were two very recent diabetes breakthroughs, BTW. So, in case either of these are useful here you are. One was released on my birthday and is from a Canadian led team ( which turned the standard "diabetes causes neural damage" concept on its head and investigated whether some of the neural damage seen might itself be the cause of diabetes. They were able to reverse diabetes in mice. Here are a few sentences from the AFP write-up on their work: >The group discovered that abnormal nerve endings in insulin- producing >pancreas islet cells sparked a chain of events that caused Type 1 >diabetes in mice. > >When they removed the sensory neurons, it prevented inflammation of >the cells and the mice did not develop the disorder. > >An injection also cleared islet cell inflammation in afflicted mice >within a day and normalized the elevated insulin resistance normally >associated with the disease. That work was done at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Calgary, and the Jackson Laboratory in Maine and can be found in the journal, Cell. Also recent was a press release from the University of Bonn which included: >Linchpin discovered in insulin metabolism > >Chemists and biologists find gene which might -- if defect -- >contribute to the development of Type II diabetes > >Scientists from the new interdisciplinary LIMES (Life & Medical >Sciences) Centre at the University of Bonn have identified a new gene >which could play an important role in the development of diabetes. I didn't make a note where that is published, but I think that it also is in Cell. I recall two diabetes articles being in that issue. Of course, FML members already are waiting to see what arises from the genetic vulnerabilities work currently being done at UC Davis. Those of us who had ferrets back decades ago when adrenal disease and insulinoma were very uncommon, despite the foods being worse are especially curious to see which genetic vulnerabilities may be present, and may have increased in the ferret population between then and now. The more time passes the more is learned. Look at it as compensation for getting older. I do. VBG! (But just as am a lumper rather than a splitter in taxonomy, I also tend to require a lot of hard proof and formal research challenges before I personally consider something to be sufficiently verified rather than hypothetical. people vary in their personal requirements on that score, and that is just a difference among people which needs to be tolerated, like so many other differences. Sukie (not a vet) and hoping to get to today's FML before tonight! Current FHL address: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth People can join there or can send a blank mail to the automated joining address: [log in to unmask] and then follow the directions. (The second is recommended for those having problems with Yahoogroups web settings, and afterward send a blank mail from your subscribed address to [log in to unmask] to get the digest instead of individual mails. ) 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 5466]