SOME OBSERVATIONS ON WATER AND SALT METABOLISM IN DIABETES MELLITUS

It is a well known fact that in diabetes mellitus the clinical pictures may be dominated by polyuria and polydipsia. It is also well known that in diabetes insipidus the same symptoms are observed and the question arises whether a relation exists between the two diseases. This question has been often raised and has given rise to a rather extensive literature. That a relation exists is made probable by certain cases that have been described, in which one disease changed into the other [Senator (1), Lewin (2)]. On the other hand, Naunyn (3) denies any relation between diabetes mellitus and insipidus, and Umber (4) states that it has never been proved that in a case of polyuria and glyeosuria a real diabetes insipidus existed. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that patients with diabetes insipidus not seldom give a family history of diabetes mellitus. Trousseau (5) considered this fact important enough that he prefaced his clinical treatise on polydipsia with the words