Vasopressin antagonists are agents that interfere with the vasopressin receptors and are used as treatment of hyponatremia in patients with congestive heart failure or with cirrhosis.
Recommended Resources
Effects of Tolvaptan in Patients With Worsening Heart Failure
The full title of this Journal of the American Medical Association article is "Effects of Tolvaptan, a Vasopressin Antagonist, in Patients Hospitalized With Worsening Heart Failure," and it was written in 2004 after a controlled trial. It delves into the topic and evaluates the effects of this vasopressin antagonist.
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/291/16/1963
Vasopressin Antagonism: A Future Treatment Option in Heart Failure
This European Heart Journal article is available in PDF format and digs into the benefits of vasopressin antagonism as a treatment to help activate the sympathetic nervous system.
http://eurheartj.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/6/538.full
Vasopressin Antagonists - Progress and Promise
This article, which appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2006, discusses the treatment of the electrolyte disorder hyponatremia. Aside from the abstract, the site offers the full text and the opportunity to purchase the article.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe068236
