title: Vasopressin receptor antagonists: potential indications and clinical results.
abstract: Hyponatremia is a common electrolyte disorder with the potential to cause serious neurological complications. Conventional therapies for hyponatremia have been found to be inconsistently effective. Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is etiologically critical for hyponatremia, and it has been proven that AVP receptor (AVP-R) antagonists normalize serum sodium levels in hyponatremic patients. Additionally, one of these drugs showed potential for reducing mortality in patients with decompensated heart failure and for suppressing the progression of genetic renal disease in animals. The first non-peptide AVP-R antagonist has recently been approved in the United States. It is expected that this approval will accelerate the development of future clinical applications of AVP-R antagonists and open the door to a new era in the treatment of these intractable diseases.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Research Laboratories, Drug Discovery Research, Astellas Pharma Inc, 21 Miyukigaoka, Tsukuba-Shi, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yukinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fujimori
authors.forename: Katsumi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sudoh
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sasamata
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D065092:Antidiuretic Hormone Receptor Antagonists; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin / Q000502:physiology*; D015195:Drug Design; D015507:Drugs, Investigational; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007010:Hyponatremia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007690:Polycystic Kidney Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D012964:Sodium / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D065092:Antidiuretic Hormone Receptor Antagonists; D015507:Drugs, Investigational; D001127:Arginine Vasopressin; D012964:Sodium