TOLVAPTAN: AN INVESTIGATIONAL DRUG TO TREAT
ACUTE AND
CHRONIC HYPNONATREMIA: A newer investigational drug, Tolvaptan, a
vassopressin V2-receptor antagonist, has been shown to treat
water intoxication, in acute and chronic
hyponatremia faster, and more effectively, than other treatments. It works, without significant side effects, according to the results of two large studies presented at the American Heart Association’s November 2006 sessions, by Mihai Gheorghiade, M.D., a cardiologist and professor of
medicine at USA’s Northwestern University. The easy-to-administer oral drug, developed by Otsuka Pharmaceutical, begins to normalize serum sodium within hours. The normalization is sustained during long-term therapy. The two studies were be published in the November 16, 2006 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Read full article at link below.