Can Desmopressin Improve Memory? Patients with minor head injuries show some improvement after therapy

To determine whether desmopressin has beneficial effects on mental performance after head injury, 17 patients with closed-head injury received nasally administered desmopressin 20 f.I.Q/day (n = 9) or placebo for a mean of 4.3 days from 16-40 hours after the injury was sustained.

Of 6 tests of mental performance administered, only the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test scores and Story Memory test scores were significantly improved from baseline after therapy in desmopressin recipients. No significant improvement in any score was noted after placebo administration.

Thus, vasopressin may improve information processing and short term verbal logical memory which has been impaired by head injury ' ... Further efforts should be made to elucidate clinical efficacy of peptides in pathological conditions of the human brain, and to submit new, potentially more potent derivatives, to clinical testing.' Fil1pova M. Jung M. F1l1p V. Kre1cova H Clm1cal eff1cacy of 1-desam•no·B·d·arglnme·vasopress•n (DDAVP) 1n short-term recovery from m1nor head InJury Human Psychopharmacology Cl1n1cal and Experomental 4 47·50. Mar 1989 8900

12 INPHARMA"' 1 Apr 1989 0156-2703/89/0401-0012/0$0100/0 © ADIS Press