# Adrenal Disease in Female Rabbits



## jacknvioletsmom (Apr 5, 2010)

I am writing about this on the behalf of one my bunny friends. Anyone familiar with adrenal disease in female rabbits? I have a friend with a female, spayed Dutch bunny that was diagnosed with it a few months ago. Her hormones are spiraling out of control and it is creating much heartache for her and her bunny companion. My friend has given her Luprin shots and it doesn't seem to help. She is loosing weight and can't control her hormonal urges. The vet suggested going to Canada but that is far away. My friend is not ready to put her down and doesn't know where to go to get some ideas. I suggested this site, but she has been channeling all of her energies to work this thing out. Any ideas I can pass onto her would be most welcomed!


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## tonyshuman (Apr 5, 2010)

This is interesting. I have not heard of bunnies with this issue, but my hamster was expected to. I am also really interested in hormones via my study. 

Lupron, however, is an analog of GnRH and it would not act on the adrenal gland. It acts on the pituitary to release LH and FSH, which act on reproductive tissue like ovaries, testes, and vaginal tissue. Since the bunny is spayed, I don't know what Lupron would do to help her.

Adrenal hormones include glucocorticoids (increased in Cushing's syndrome), mineralocorticoids, testosterone, epinephrine and noradrenaline. What are the symptoms? Are they similar to Cushing's disease?


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## tonyshuman (Apr 5, 2010)

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/A/Adrenals.html


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## ra7751 (Apr 5, 2010)

Umm....I have heard of this both in males and females. Lupron is the drug of choice but quite honestly, the cure (not exactly a cure...more of a treatment) in this case is probably worse than the condition....especially for the rabbit. One of the very many side effects of Lupron is bone density loss....in animals we call it Metabolic Bone Disease. Since thereis already so much misinformation about calcium in a rabbit's diet....this drug will deplete much of the calcium in the rabbit's body and will lead to many issues....including bone fractures and dental issues. Just a note....many times (not always) this condition is seen in some of the rabbit farms in which they spay/neuter too early.

Randy


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## Pipp (Apr 5, 2010)

Here's one of the many bits of info in our Library holding area waiting to be incorporated. It was written by Rami, who works with MediRabbit.com, in response to a query about a female rabbit. It doesn't add much, but here it is... 

"Lupron is usually used in neutered males that present an increased aggressive behavior due to adrenal gland disorders. The norm is a monthly injection. The treatment is expensive."


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## jacknvioletsmom (Apr 5, 2010)

I will check with her and get back here with more information. Thanks for all who have responded so far. Anything any one has heard or can suggest, will be most welcomed as I had never heard such a thing either.


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## Pipp (Apr 5, 2010)

Oh, and seeing as nobody posted the Library link, here it is. It's a bit of a mess but there's a lot of info, worth a look. 

Aggression 



sas :bunnydance:


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## tonyshuman (Apr 5, 2010)

I found this helpful website that talks about ferrets but most of it makes sense for rabbits too.

http://www.ferret-universe.com/health/adrenal.asp

Apparently, because the gonads are gone, the adrenal glands start to respond to LH and FSH. They have a low-level response to them in a normal system. Giving the Lupron depot injection leads to a low-level, long term release of GnRH, which causes the adrenal glands to become desensitized to the hormone. Once the depot injection wears off, the adrenals should stop responding to the LH and FSH that are present in the body.


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## itoshiixhito (Apr 19, 2010)

How's your friend's bun doing?


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## cirrustwi (Apr 19, 2010)

*tonyshuman wrote: *


> I found this helpful website that talks about ferrets but most of it makes sense for rabbits too.
> 
> http://www.ferret-universe.com/health/adrenal.asp
> 
> Apparently, because the gonads are gone, the adrenal glands start to respond to LH and FSH. They have a low-level response to them in a normal system. Giving the Lupron depot injection leads to a low-level, long term release of GnRH, which causes the adrenal glands to become desensitized to the hormone. Once the depot injection wears off, the adrenals should stop responding to the LH and FSH that are present in the body.


Adrenal disease is EXTREMELY common in ferrets. Females ferrets must be either spayed or bred or they can basically bleed to death because their uterine lining just continues to grow when they have a heat until it takes all they have to give. And unaltered males are aggressive, so almost all ferrets are spayed/neutered shortly after birth. This makes adrenal disease (basically cancer) exceptionally common. The recommended treatment in ferrets is removal of the affected gland. If both are affected, there is little that can be done. Both can be removed and shots given, but this is almost worse then the disease.

I used to have ferrets and lost a couple to this awful disease. In ferrets it is characterized in early stages by hair loss on the tail which creeps up the hind legs and body until complete hairlessness sets in.

I hope your friend's rabbit pulls through but this is a tough treatment.


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## tonyshuman (Apr 19, 2010)

I think that's part of why my vet was so willing to work with my hamster--she's really passionate about ferrets and treats them a lot. I hope the injections will help.


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