Role of Vasopressin and Desmopressin in Diabetes Insipidus

Vasopressin is secreted by posterior pituitary and act as an antidiuretic hormone the function of vasopressin is to maintain the osmolarity of urine. It is a peptide hormone which acts as an antidiuretic hormone. It reduces the excretion of water and electrolyte in urine and. Vasopressin has an important role in diabetes insipidus. Diabetes insipidus is an uncommon disorder of water and electrolyte imbalance in which large volume of diluted urine is excreted abnormally from body which is known as polyurea and there is increase in intake of fluid which is known as polydipsia. The production of vasopressin is insufficient sometimes due to various reasons such as its increased degradation and impaired response of kidney to vasopressin, and due to this impaired production of vasopressin, a disease is occur which is known as DI. Patient with more severity and have uncompensated symptoms can develop various disorders such as marked dehydration, neurologic symptoms, encephalopathy etc. So if diabetes insipidus is not controlled by properly diagnosed and managed it can be a life-threatening disorder. Patients with diabetes insipidus can be treated with vasopressin and desmopressin. We review here current knowledge on the different aspects such as pathophysiology, classification, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of DI.