OR17-01 Novel Provocation Test With MDMA (‘Ecstasy’) Reveals Oxytocin Deficiency As A New Pituitary Entity In Patients With Central Diabetes Insipidus - A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
Journal of the Endocrine Society October 1, 2023 Cihan Atila, Friederike Holze, Rakithan Murugesu et al.
Patients with arginine vasopressin deficiency (central diabetes insipidus) show heightened anxiety, alexithymia, and depressed mood at baseline compared with healthy controls. When given a single 100 mg oral dose of MDMA, patients had only a minimal oxytocin increase of 66 pg/ml, whereas healthy controls showed an increase of 658 pg/ml—a 15.8-fold difference. This blunted oxytocin response was accompanied by reduced subjective effects including trust, happiness, openness, and fear reduction. The findings suggest that an oxytocin deficiency may underlie the psychological symptoms in these patients, establishing oxytocin deficiency as a potential hypothalamic-pituitary entity.