Also called: DI
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Diabetes Insipidus
Diabetes insipidus (DI) causes frequent urination. You become extremely thirsty, so you drink. Then you urinate. This cycle can keep you from sleeping or even make you wet the bed. Your body produces lots of urine that is almost all water.
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.
Usually, DI is caused by a problem with your pituitary gland or your kidneys. Treatment depends on the cause of the problem. Medicines can often help.
It sits within Kidneys and Urinary System, Endocrine System and Metabolic Problems.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Diabetes Insipidus
263 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Identifying Oxytocin Deficiency in Pediatric Patients With Pituitary DiseaseMassachusetts General Hospital
- Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin in Patients With Arginine-vasopressin DeficiencyElizabeth Austen Lawson
- A Study in Adult Males With X-linked Congenital Nephrogenic Diabetes Insipidus to Test the Effects of NDI-5001 Given for Multiple Days and to Test How NDI-5001 is Tolerated and Taken up in the BodyOtsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.
- A Study of Lower Radiotherapy Dose to Treat Children With CNS GerminomaChildren's Oncology Group
- Effect of Adding Vasopressin on Cardiac Output, Blood Pressure, Diuresis, and Tissue Perfusion Indices in Patients With Septic ShockAssistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
- Vasopressin and Pain Perception in the BrainUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore
Research already completed
- Study of Ascending Levels of Tolvaptan in HyponatremiaOtsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.
- "SALT Trial" Study of Ascending Levels of Tolvaptan in HyponatremiaOtsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc.
- Identifying Oxytocin Deficiency in Adults With Pituitary DiseaseElizabeth Austen Lawson
- Efficacy and Safety Trial of Sodium Valproate, in Paediatric and Adult Patients With Wolfram SyndromeUniversity of Birmingham
- Multimodal Vasopressor Strategy in Septic ShockUniversity Medical Centre Maribor
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Diabetes InsipidusNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- Diabetes InsipidusEndocrine Society
Diagnosis and Tests
- Osmolality TestsNational Library of Medicine
- Sodium Blood TestNational Library of Medicine
Genetics
- Arginine vasopressin deficiency: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Arginine vasopressin resistance: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
- Wolfram syndrome: MedlinePlus GeneticsNational Library of Medicine
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Diabetes InsipidusNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Diabetes Insipidus. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Diabetes Insipidus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.