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Neurogenic Diabetes Insipidus: The ‘Diabetes’ That’s Not About Sugar!

First off, let’s clear up the confusion: Neurogenic Diabetes Insipidus has nothing to do with the diabetes you hear about on the daily. You know, the one that’s all about sugar, insulin, and your Aunt Sally’s strict no-cake diet. Diabetes Insipidus (DI) is a totally different ball game. It’s all about water, baby! In the simplest terms, Neurogenic Diabetes Insipidus is a condition where your body can’t properly balance its fluids. It happens because the pituitary gland in your brain isn’t making enough of a hormone called vasopressin (also known as antidiuretic hormone or ADH). This hormone usually tells your kidneys to hold on to water, but without enough of it, your body just lets all…

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Featured

 Diabetes insipidus from a patient's perspective

For the first time, a large-scale, international patient survey provides important insights into diagnosis and treatment, as well as treatment-related side effects and psychological comorbidities of this rare neuroendocrine disease.

 Diabetes Insipidus is changing its name: Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency

There has been confusion between sugar diabetes (also known as diabetes mellitus) and diabetes insipidus for a long time, which has been detrimental to patient care. Many pituitary patients will have their own experiences of having their fingers pricked when telling a medical professional that they have diabetes insipidus. The death of Kane Gorny brought the understanding for the need of a new name to the forefront when he was refused his desmopressin during a routine hip operation. After a long campaign, a working group with endocrinologists, patient representatives, and patient support groups, a new name was decided on – Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency or AVP-D for short. This is a global change.

 Diabetes Insipidus Vasopressin Deficiency and Resistance Explained

This book presents an overview of diabetes insipidus and represents Lewis Blevins' thoughts, understanding, and personal reflections on a career of evaluating and treating numerous patients with the disorder. In this book, you'll find Blevins' opinions about diagnostic testing and management approaches. He shares patient stories and discusses his findings, as well as patient voices collected from surveys conducted at Pituitary World News. The first patient Blevins encountered with diabetes insipidus was a young woman with neurosarcoidosis in 1988.

Articles of Interest

Diabetes Insipidus Statistics

Diabetes insipidus can happen to anyone. The good news is that this disease isn’t overly harmful to those who wind up developing it. There isn’t the threat of kidney damage like in other diseases. Unlike diabetes mellitus, insulin injections or blood sugar controlling medications are not required. There aren’t any painful daily blood tests to take. Treating diabetes insipidus typically involves fluid management, lifestyle changes, and sometimes specific medication that is usually taken orally or through a nose spray.

Diabetes Insipidus vs Siadh

Diabetes insipidus and Syndrome of Inappropriate Anti-diuretic Hormone [SIADH] have some similarities, but are two very different conditions. They both involve how the body create vasopressin [ADH] and one of the primary symptoms of both conditions is excessive thirst, but the results are completely the opposite. In diabetes insipidus, the body is excreting too many fluids as urine, which can often leave people feeling dehydrated. In SIADH, a person is retaining too much water instead. Because the signs and symptoms can be somewhat similar, even if the body is either retaining too much water or too little, then here are some of the differences in these two opposite conditions that involve ADH.

Addicted to Water

Her friends had sometimes kidded her about her constant array of water bottles and her frequent trips to the bathroom, but she’d never thought much about it.

Central Diabetes Insipidus

CDI is a distinct disorder caused by complete or partial deficiency of the protein, arginine vasopressin (AVP), which is required by the kidneys to manage water balance in the body. If affected individuals do not have access to water, dehydration may occur.

Clinical review: Current state and future perspectives in the diagnosis of diabetes insipidus: a clinical review.

The differential diagnosis of diabetes insipidus (DI) is often challenging but essential, because treatment may vary substantially. This article analyzes the database and performance of currently used differential diagnostic tests for DI and discusses future perspectives for diagnostic improvement.

Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes insipidus occurs due to: A lack of antidiuretic hormone (cranial diabetes insipidus). A lack of response to antidiuretic hormone (nephrogenic diabetes insipidus).

Diabetes Insipidus: A Challenging Diagnosis with New Drug Therapies

Diabetes Insipidus (DI) is either due to deficient secretion of arginine vasopressin (central) or to tubular unresponsiveness (nephrogenic). Drug induced DI is a well-known entity with an extensive list of medications. Polyuria is generally defined as urine output exceeding 3 liters per day in adults.

Diabetes insipidus: The other diabetes

Diabetes insipidus (DI) is part of a group of hereditary or acquired polyuria and polydipsia diseases. It is associated with inadequate arginine vasopressin (AVP) or antidiuretic hormone (ADH) secretion or renal response to AVP...

Patient's story, by her husband - Diabetes insipidus

If there is anybody reading this who is struggling with the problems associated with DI then we would be very willing to listen and maybe offer advice. I would also strongly endorse all the help provided by the Pituitary Foundation to whom I say a heartfelt, “Thank you very much”.

Stopping the cascade of diabetes insipidus

Diabetes insipidus occurs in two forms. If the problem involves a lack of ADH secretion because of a problem with the hypothalamus or pituitary, the patient has central DI, also called neurogenic DI. If ADH is released but fails to stimulate the nephron's collecting tubules to conserve water, the patient has nephrogenic DI.

What's to know about diabetes insipidus?

Diabetes insipidus is a condition in which the body cannot retain enough water. The patient is excessively thirsty and excretes large amounts of extremely diluted urine - a reduction in fluid intake does not reduce amounts and consistency of urine excretion. It is a rare condition, affecting approximately 1 in every 25,000 people.

Resources

DiabetesInsipidus.org

The main goal of The Diabetes Insipidus Foundation, Inc. is improved treatment, and ultimately the prevention and cure of all forms of diabetes insipidus through research. DIF promotes a greater public awareness and understanding of the disease and will serve patients and their families with informational material and through the quarterly publication of Endless Water.

NDI Foundation

The NDI Foundation was formed to support education, research, treatment and cure for Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus. Our goal is to create a communication channel to serve the entire NDI community: patients and their families, researchers, physicians and other health care providers.

Water Deprivation Test

Water deprivation test helps to make diagnosis of Diabetes Insipidus as well as differentiate its type...

NIDDK

Diabetes insipidus is a rare disorder that occurs when a person's kidneys pass an abnormally large volume of urine that is insipid—dilute and odorless. In most people, the kidneys pass about 1 to 2 quarts of urine a day. In people with diabetes insipidus, the kidneys can pass 3 to 20 quarts of urine a day.

The Pituitary Foundation

Diabetes insipidus (DI) is caused by a problem with either the production, or action, of the hormone vasopressin (AVP).

MayoClinic

You may assume diabetes insipidus is related to what's commonly known as "sugar" diabetes, or diabetes mellitus. While the disorders share a name and have some common signs, diabetes mellitus (type 1 and type 2) and diabetes insipidus are unrelated.

MedlinePlus

DI is different from diabetes mellitus (DM), which involves insulin problems and high blood sugar. The symptoms can be similar; however, DI is related to how your kidneys handle fluids. It's much less common than DM. Urine and blood tests can show which one you have.

NHS

Diabetes insipidus is a rare disorder where the system used by the body to regulate its water levels becomes disrupted.