Dick Bossart mentioned: >We had a call from our shelter vet today concerning our ferret with one >adrenal gland and blood tests indicating that the other may also be tumorous. >He suggested a new treatment that is still apparently somewhat experimental. >The drug is Lysodren.... I would direct everyone's attention to the word "MAY be an alternative." I would probably reserve this as a last resort, following surgery, and in animals with only one adrenal, a hemiadrenalectomy (removal of part of the adrenal). Most vets that are doing a lot of ferrets report poor response to Lysodren, and in the cases that I have seen, the results are very unpredictable. Lysodren is used in dogs and cats with adrenal tumors, and is simply an agent that selectively kills the cells of the adrenal cortex. Unfortunately, in ferrets, it may kill the cells that secrete the good hormones, while leaving not touching the ones that secrete the estrogen and cause the clinical signs. This, of course, would be very bad for the ferret. Or, it may do nothing at all. The people who I trust on this subject, Dr. Karen Rosenthal of the AMC, and Dr. Susan Brown, who have probably the most experience with this drug, suggest that adrenalectomy and hemiadrenalectomy are still the treatment of choice. It's nice to have a drug which we can try as a last resort, but let's leave it as that - the last resort. Bruce H. Williams, DVM Dept. of Veterinary Pathology Chief Pathologist, AccuPath Armed Forces Institute of Pathology [log in to unmask] Washington, D.C. 20306-6000 [log in to unmask] [Posted in FML issue 1257]