Bed Wetting Drug, Desmopressin, linked to seizures and possibly two deaths

The bed-wetting drug, desmopressin, has been linked to hyponatremia,seizures and even two deaths. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notified healthcare professionals and patients of the Agency's request that manufacturers update the prescribing information for desmopressin to include important new safety information about severe hyponatremia and seizures. Certain patients, including children treated with the intranasal formulation of the drug for primary nocturnal enuresis (PNE), are at risk for developing severe hyponatremia that can result in seizures and death. As such, desmopressin intranasal formulations are no longer indicated for the treatment of primary nocturnal enuresis and should not be used in hyponatremic patients or patients with a history of hyponatremia. PNE treatment with desmopressin tablets should be interrupted during acute illnesses that may lead to fluid and/or electrolyte imbalance. All desmopressin formulations should be used cautiously in patients at risk for water intoxication with hyponatremia.

Some patients taking the drug desmopressin, including children who take desmopressin to stop bed-wetting, may be at risk of seizures and death. The FDA recieved 61 reports of seizures which caused two deaths in patients taking desmopressin. Those seizures were linked to hyponatremia, an imbalance of sodium levels in the body. It's not clear why the patients who had seizures were taking desmopressin, which isn't just used to treat bed-wetting. But among the 25 patients younger than 17 who had seizures while taking desmopressin nasal spray (intranasal desmopressin), bed-wetting was the most common reason. Children taking intranasal desmopressin to treat bed-wetting are "particularly susceptible to severe hyponatremia and seizures," states the FDA.

Desmopressin is marketed as DDAVP Nasal Spray, DDAVP Rhinal Tube, DDAVP, DDVP, Minirin, and Stimate Nasal Spray. Makers include Sanofi Aventis and several companies that make generic drugs.

Desmopressin is an antidiuretic. It limits the amount of water that's eliminated in urine.

The body needs to balance its levels of water and sodium. Too little sodium or too much water can cause hyponatremia, which can cause seizures and death.

It's not clear if desmopressin caused the two patients' deaths or the other seizures. The patients who died were 28 and 80 years old, according to Reuters.