To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Vasopressin-Receptor Antagonists May Help Treat Wide Range of Conditions URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/220EC6.htm Doctor's Guide May 9, 2008
NEW YORK -- May 9, 2008 -- A study appearing in the May 10, 2008, issue of The Lancet suggests that a new class of drugs called vasopressin-receptor antagonists, or vaptans, may be used to treat a wide range of conditions, including dysmenorrhoea, brain haemorrhage, psychotic disorders, and glaucoma. In the article, Professor Guy Decaux, Erasmus University Hospital, Brussels, Belgium, and colleagues noted that vaptans can be taken orally or intravenously and work by competing with vasopressin hormone molecules for the same receptor "active sites" on cells, thus blocking the action of vasopressin. Various subclasses of vaptan have been developed or are in development. Relcovaptan has shown initial positive results in the treatment of dysmenorrhoea, Raynaud's disease, and tocolysis. A second subclass of vaptans, which target a different cell receptor site, include mozavaptan, lixivaptan, satavaptan, and tolvaptan. These drugs induce diuresis without the loss of mineral salts from the body that accompanies the use of other diuretics. This class of vaptans can be used to treat hyponatraemia. Conivaptan is the only vaptan currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of hyponatraemia. Drugs in this class are in development to treat a number of conditions, including renal failure related to polycystic kidney disease, diabetic nephropathy, cirrhosis, and depression. There also have been promising preliminary studies of vaptans for the treatment of glaucoma, Meniere's disease, brain haemorrhage, and small-cell cancer. SOURCE: The Lancet --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.