PRELIMINARY COMMUNICATION

Abstract

Extracts of the posterior pituitary are administered widely in the treatment of diabetes insipidus in man. Recent studies show that pure posterior pituitary octapeptides, oxytocin (1 and footnote 1) and vasopressin,2 injected repeatedly with adjuvant but without coupling to other molecules, induce circulating antibodies in rabbits (1 and footnotes 1 and 2), hogs,2 and chickens.2 In the present study, one patient who received posterior pituitary extracts was found to have antibodies to vasopressin. The clinical implications of these findings are stressed. Details of the methods and of the observations in animals will be presented elsewhere.2