deamino-arginine-vasopressin and Memory-Disorders

Desmopressin (dDAVP), a synthetic analog of the neurohypophyseal nonapeptide arginine vasopressin, has enhanced antidiuretic potency, markedly diminished pressor activity, and a prolonged half-life and duration of action compared to the natural hormone. Desmopressin is the treatment of choice for central diabetes insipidus and can be administered either intranasally or parenterally. A newly approved indication is treatment of mild classical hemophilia and von Willebrand's disease, in which deficient concentrations of factor VIII and von Willebrand's factor are transiently increased to levels that allow minor surgery.

Topics: Anemia, Sickle Cell; Animals; Arginine Vasopressin; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin; Diabetes Insipidus; Drug Synergism; Enuresis; Hemophilia A; Humans; Kidney Concentrating Ability; Learning; Memory Disorders; Structure-Activity Relationship; Urinary Incontinence; von Willebrand Diseases

This review critically evaluates the animal and human research concerning vasopressin's putative mnemonic role. Weaknesses in the interpretations of the early animal experiments as well as the implications of the later inconsistent findings are discussed. It is concluded that both the initial enthusiasm and the subsequent skepticism concerning this hypothesized role were premature. This conclusion applies equally to the human research. A review of these studies reveals that almost all of the negative reports involved cognitively-impaired individuals. The relatively few studies that have been conducted concerning vasopressin's effects in unimpaired human subjects are consistent with the hypothesis that vasopressin does affect cognition, though both the mechanism of action and the specific cognitive processes which are altered have yet to be elucidated.

Topics: Animals; Arginine Vasopressin; Arousal; Avoidance Learning; Blood-Brain Barrier; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin; Extinction, Psychological; Haplorhini; Humans; Lypressin; Memory; Memory Disorders; Mice; Rats; Rats, Brattleboro; Vasopressins

Topics: Animals; Avoidance Learning; Conditioning, Classical; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin; Extinction, Psychological; Humans; Hypophysectomy; Injections, Intraventricular; Memory; Memory Disorders; Mice; Oxytocin; Pituitary Hormones; Pituitary Hormones, Posterior; Rats; Rats, Brattleboro; Retention, Psychology; Vasopressins

The vasopressin analog desmopressin (DDAVP) is known to enhance memory in animals and man but its precise mechanism of action is uncertain. We report the case of a patient who experienced chronic memory dysfunction with impaired job performance following transsphenoidal resection of a pituitary adenoma. A prospective double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the effects of DDAVP was performed. Memory storage and recall improved with DDAVP treatment and declined within 1 week after drug withdrawal both by subjective and objective criteria. The Buschke Selective Reminding Test was clearly the most responsive out of a battery of standard memory testing paradigms employed to track the presence or absence of DDAVP treatment.

Topics: Adenoma; Adult; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Memory Disorders; Pituitary Neoplasms; Postoperative Complications; Prospective Studies

A vasopressin derivative or placebo was administered to 21 chronic schizophrenia patients for 3 weeks in a randomized crossover double-blind design. The patients were divided into those above and below the median on baseline memory measured by the Wechsler memory scale. Vasopressin treatment did not improve memory either in those patients with below median baseline memory or in the group as a whole.

Topics: Adult; Chronic Disease; Clinical Trials as Topic; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Male; Memory Disorders; Middle Aged; Random Allocation; Schizophrenia; Vasopressins

The effects of stable chronic hyponatremia on the central nervous system are largely unknown, clinically, or in experimental animals. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize these effects in rats. Tolvaptan, a vasopressin V(2) receptor antagonist, was used to correct hyponatremia and determine any potential benefits of such treatment in this condition. Stable chronic hyponatremia was induced by combination of the continuous vasopressin V(2) receptor stimulation and liquid food intake. The hyponatremic rats did not exhibit significant changes in general symptoms or neurological functions assessed by modified Irwin's method, or in motor function assessed by the rotarod test. In passive avoidance test, however, rats with moderate and severe hyponatremia had significantly reduced step-through latency, indicating impairment in memory. This reduced step-through latency was improved by the treatment of tolvaptan (0.25-8 mg/kg daily doses), a vasopressin V(2) receptor antagonist. This improvement is associated with normalization of plasma sodium concentrations in hyponatremic rats. In conclusion, these data suggest that chronic hyponatremia may impair memory, and treatments that normalize sodium level, such as vasopressin V(2) receptor antagonists, may be beneficial to patients with hyponatremia.

Topics: Animals; Antidiuretic Hormone Receptor Antagonists; Avoidance Learning; Benzazepines; Body Water; Brain; Deamino Arginine Vasopressin; Hyponatremia; Male; Memory; Memory Disorders; Motor Activity; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Reaction Time; Receptors, Vasopressin; Sodium; Tolvaptan