Central diabetes insipidus

[Tanya Shivari]

Central diabetes insipidus is a lack of the hormone vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone) that causes excessive production of very dilute urine (polyuria).

Central diabetes insipidus has several causes, including a brain tumor, a brain injury, brain surgery, tuberculosis, and some forms of other diseases.
The main symptoms are excessive thirst and excessive urine production.
The diagnosis is based on urine tests, blood tests, and a water deprivation test.
People with central diabetes insipidus usually are given the drugs vasopressin or desmopressin .

(See also Overview of the Pituitary Gland.)
Vasopressin is a hormone produced by the hypothalamus (a region of the brain that lies just above the pituitary) and stored in and released from the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. Vasopressin helps regulate the amount of water in the body by signalling the kidneys to decrease the amount of urine they produce. Because a diuretic is a substance that increases urine production, vasopressin previously was referred to as antidiuretic hormone.