A synthetic analogue of the natural hormone 8-arginine vasopressin (an antidiuretic hormone that reduces urine production by limiting the amount of water eliminated in the urine) that is used to treat primary nocturnal enuresis, a disorder believed to be caused by inadequate release of this hormone by the pituitary. Marketed under the brand name SSAVP.
A synthetic antidiuretic, a vasopressin analog, with greater antidiuretic activity but less pressor activity than vasopressin. Desmopressin is used to treat central diabetes insipidus, primary nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting), and bleeding caused by mild forms of hemophilia A or von Willebrand’s disease.