Single Administration of TOLVAptan at a Dosage Used in the Treatment of Hyponatremia: Changes in THIRST and Water Balance in Healthy Volunteers

Tolvaptan is a new drug that specifically antagonizes the V2-receptor of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and leads to water diuresis: its beneficial effects have been demonstrated for hyponatremia due to a syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD). During acute administration of tolvaptan, the main fear is to induce a too fast increase in plasma sodium concentration and in turn brain damage. An acute increase in serum sodium concentration has been observed in water restricted subjects. However, the tolvaptan-induced increase in plasma sodium concentration is expected to stimulate thirst, preventing major negative water balance. In non-water restricted subjects, this has never been studied. Moreover, this physiological adaptation may change according to age and gender. The investigatorshypothesize that healthy volunteers will adapt normally to an acute tolvaptan administration, thirst helping to maintain plasma sodium and osmolality within the normal range. The final tolvaptan-induced increase in plasma osmolality will depend on thirst adaptation, influenced by physiological factors, namely age and sex.

Sixty subjects (30 male, 30 female) from 18 to 85 years old will be recruited from the database of healthy subjects of the Clinical Investigation Center of the European Georges Pompidou Hospital, Paris, France. They will have two visits: one inclusion safety visit without administration, and 2 to 15 days later, an experimental visit. During the later visit water and electrolyte output and water intake will be monitored hourly two hours before and six hours after single administration of 15 mg tolvaptan.