Synonyms in a broader sense
Water urinary dysentery
Definition
Diabetes insipidus is the reduced ability of the kidneys to produce concentrated urine when there is a lack of water, i.e. when the body has too little fluid. One can distinguish between a central and a renal form (cause located in the kidney).
Summary
Diabetes insipidus is a hormone deficiency (ADH – hormone), which leads to an increased loss of fluid through the kidneys. This deficiency can be caused either by insufficient production in the brain or by insufficient utilization by the kidney itself. In both cases, too much urine that is not concentrated enough, i.e. highly diluted, is excreted.
The affected persons are always very thirsty and cannot do without drinking even during the night. The diagnosis can be made by testing for thirst and by administering ADH-like substances. The therapy depends on the form of the disease.
Causes
There are two known causes of diabetes insipidus. A central form, i.e. misdirection of information caused in the brain, and a renal (ren (lat.) = kidney), i.e. a malfunction of the hormone ADH located in the kidney.
This hormone is responsible for a regulated fluid excretion via the kidney. Depending on the water content of the body, it ensures that the fluid is excreted in a correspondingly regulating manner. The mechanism lies in the installation of small channels (aquaporins) in the wall of the renal tubules.
The more of these channels, which return water from the primary urine in the kidney to the circulatory system, the less fluid can be eliminated via the kidney. Therefore, if this hormone is missing, fewer of these aquaporins can be incorporated and the body loses fluid. The three most important and typical symptoms of diabetes insipidus are Polyuria (increased urination) can be as high as 20 liters per day in patients.
The urine is very much diluted due to the high water content. Due to the high fluid loss, the diabetes insipidus patient is always thirsty – even at night he cannot do without drinking. If the patient is not able to drink the quantities he excretes, dehydration and desiccosis develop, which can quickly become a deadly danger, especially for small children.
Exiccosis (internal dehydration) is also dangerous in adults. Other symptoms that can occur due to the lack of fluid are In small children (under 2 years of age) there is often diarrhoea (diarrhoea) instead of polyuria (frequent urination)! If the patient does not suffer from a nocturnal urge to urinate, diabetes insipidus can practically be ruled out. – frequent urination (polyuria)
- Constant thirst with frequent drinking (polydipsia)
- Lack of concentration of the urine (asthenuria)
- Dry skin and mucous membranes
- Constipation
- Sleep disorder
- Muscle cramps
- Irritability