Central diabetes insipidus

Central diabetes insipidus, also known as arginine vasopressin deficiency, is a form of diabetes insipidus caused by a lack of vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone) production in the brain. Vasopressin increases the volume of blood and decreases the volume of urine, so a shortage of it produces increased urine output and volume depletion. It is also called neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus, after the posterior pituitary, which receives vasopressin from the hypothalamus. It shares only excessive urine production with diabetes mellitus, so the name is somewhat misleading. Untreated patients often have polyuria, nocturia and polydipsia. Congenital or acquired lesions can cause it, and when no cause is found it is called idiopathic. The water deprivation test is commonly used to distinguish it, and treatment restores the water deficit, replaces the missing hormone with desmopressin and addresses the underlying cause. The record here describes the condition as medicine understands it and is not medical advice.