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Letters to the Editor
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Alcohol
Alcohol inhibits vasopressin secretion
From Professor B. L. Furman, FRPharmS
In my attempts to maintain my continuing professional development as
a pharmacist who does not yet know whether or not he “is practising” (I
have duly e-mailed the Royal Pharmaceutical Society helpdesk to determine
if I shall be paying £256 in January, or if I shall, instead, be
purchasing 10 bottles of my favourite malt whisky), I read with interest
Pam Mason’s article (PJ, 4 December, p817 PDF 70K) on
hangovers (in anticipation of an unfavourable outcome of my quest to
remain on
the practising Register
and the consequent purchase of the said whisky).
The article states that alcohol acts as a diuretic, because it inhibits
the action of vasopressin (antidiuretic hormone) on the kidney. Although
very large concentrations of ethanol were shown to inhibit the effects
of submaximal concentrations of vasopressin in rat isolated papillary
collecting ducts,1 and in toad isolated bladder,2 most of the evidence
in the literature suggests that the diuretic effect of ethanol is mediated
by an early inhibition of vasopressin secretion, rather than an inhibition
of its renal actions. This has been shown in vitro in the rat median
eminence using behaviourally relevant ethanol concentrations (5–25
mmol/L)3 and in vivo in the human.4–6
Brian L. Furman
Dean of Science
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Strathclyde,
Glasgow
References
1. Ray C, Carney SL, Gillies AH. Effect of ethanol on water and chloride
transport in the rat papillary collecting duct. Mineral and Electrolyte
Metabolism 1992;18:370–4.
2. Meier KE, Mendoza SA. Effect of ethanol on the water permeability
and short-circuit current of the urinary bladder of the toad and the
response to vasopressin, adenosine-3’,5’-monophosphate and
theophylline. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 1976;196:
231–7.
3. Brinton RE, Gruener R, Deshmukh P, Yamamura HI. In vitro inhibition
of vasopressin release in brain by behaviourally relevant ethanol concentrations
Neuroscience Letters 1986;67:213–7.
4. Helderman JH, Vestal RE, Rowe JW, Tobin JD, Andres R, Robertson GL.
The response of arginine vasopressin to intravenous ethanol and hypertonic
saline in man: the impact of aging. Journal of Gerontology 1978;33:39–47.
5. Eisenhofer G, Johnson RH. Effect of ethanol ingestion on plasma vasopressin
and water balance in humans American Journal of Physiology 1982;242:R522–7.
6. Leppaluoto J, Vuolteenaho O, Arjamaa O, Ruskoaho H. Plasma immunoreactive
atrial natriuretic peptide and vasopressin after ethanol intake in man.
Acta Physiologica Scandanavica. 1992;144:121–7. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal