Define Diabetes Insipidus

Diabetes insipidus is sometimes called water diabetes to distinguish it from diabetes mellitus, or sugar diabetes. They share very few symptoms and cannot be treated the same way, but when examining a patient, a doctor must rule out diabetes mellitus before diagnosing the problem as diabetes insipidus.

Features

• Diabetes insipidus is marked by frequent urination, excessive thirst, large amounts of fluid intake, repeatedly waking up in the middle of the night to relieve oneself and bedwetting.

Identification

• The patient's urine is not yellow but rather pale or colorless and watery, with a low osmolality, or having a low concentration of solute compared to water content.

Types

• There are four types of diabetes insipidus: pituitary, nephrogenic, gestational (affecting pregnant women) and dipsogenic.

Causes

• Diabetes insipidus is primarily inherited from a parent, but can also be caused by brain tumors, head trauma, chronic meningitis, multiple sclerosis and hypercalcaemia, or too much calcium in the body.

Risks

• The primary risk posed by diabetes insipidus is severe dehydration, which increases sodium levels in the body that can lead to brain damage. Only dipsogenic DI can cause overhydration or water intoxication, causing headaches, dizziness, suppressed appetite, seizures, confusion and coma.

Treatment

• Pituitary and gestational DI are treated with the hormone desmopressin, which is a modified form of vasopressin, the hormone that instructs the kidneys to reduce urine output.