Diabetes Insipidus Research Paper

The familial form of neurohypophysis diabetes insipidus is caused by mutations in the AVP gene. This gene provides instructions for making a hormone called vasopressin or antidiuretic hormone (ADH). This hormone, which is produced and stored in the brain, helps control the body's water balance. The kidneys filter the blood to remove waste and excess fluid, which are stored in the bladder as urine. ADH controls the balance between fluid intake and urine excretion. Normally, when a person's fluid intake is low or when a lot of fluid is lost (for example, through sweating), the brain releases more ADH into the bloodstream. High levels of this hormone direct the kidneys to reabsorb more water and to make less urine. When fluid intake is adequate, …show more content…
A loss of ADH disrupts the body's water balance, leading to excessive urine production and the other features of the disorder.

In 30 to 50 percent of all cases of neurohypophysis diabetes insipidus, the cause of the disorder is unknown. Studies suggest that some of these cases may have an autoimmune basis. Autoimmune disorders occur when the immune system malfunctions and attacks the body's own tissues and organs. For unknown reasons, in some people with neurohypophysis diabetes insipidus the immune system appears to damage the brain cells that normally produce ADH.

Familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus is almost always inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern, which means one copy of the altered AVP gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the disorder. In a few affected families, the condition has had an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. Autosomal recessive inheritance means that both copies of the gene in each cell have mutations. The parents of an individual with an autosomal recessive condition each carry one copy of the mutated gene, but they typically do not show signs and symptoms of the