[Diabetes insipidus and exogenous antidiuretic hormone activity modifications by lithium in the rat].

The authors made conspicuous in the rat the appearance of "diabetes insipidus" induced by two lithium salts: chloride and carbonate administered orally, with increasing doses in food. The polyuria, polydipsia and urinary hypotony are reversible and disappeared with stopping the treatment. The animals became insensible to the exogenous antidiuretic hormon during the treatment and progressively became sensible again during the following twenty days so suggesting a nephrogenic mechanism by lithium: either a loss of ADH activity, either the abolition of intrarenal osmotic pressure gradient.