Aquaretic
Class of drugs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An aquaretic is a novel class of drug that is used to promote aquaresis, the excretion of water without electrolyte loss.[1] Strictly speaking, aquaretics are not diuretics but are sometimes classified as such.
Aquaresis is preferable to diuresis in the treatment of hyponatremia.[citation needed]
Pharmacokinetics
Aquaretics increase urine output without increasing sodium and chloride excretion, thus causing an increase in urine whilst retaining electrolytes.[2]
Examples
A number of herbal medicines are classified as aquaretics, for example common horsetail or common nettle leaves.[3]
Synthetic aquaretics are vasopressin receptor antagonists and include conivaptan, tolvaptan, demeclocycline, and mozavaptan (OPC-31260), as well as lithium. Conivaptan hydrochloride and tolvaptan have been approved by the FDA for treating syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone.[4][5] Mozavaptan is approved in Japan.[citation needed]
