[Arg8]-Vasopressin solution was used as an antigen for preparing preadsorbed antisera for immunocytochemistry. The product was used in L6 cell culture of the C5 subclone for differentiation studies. Because it is stable, desmopressin is preferred for treatments especially if pressor effects are not desired. The primary indication for therapy is central diabetes insipidus, a disorder that results when ADH secretion is reduced and that is characterized by polydipsia, polyuria, and dehydration. Desmopressin is also used to reduce primary nocturnal enuresis, or bedwetting, in children. It is useful in people with mild hemophilia A or with some types of von Willebrand’s disease, in which von Willebrand’s factor is present at low levels. In these cases, desmopressin is given when excessive bleeding occurs or before surgery to help reduce bleeding indirectly by increasing the amounts of coagulation factors. A possible adverse effect of desmopressin is water intoxication if too much is taken. ADH antagonists, including nonpeptide analogues that may be taken orally, have been developed with specificity for each of the receptor types. In the future, those that block V1 receptors may be useful in treating hypertension, and those that block V2 receptors may be useful in any condition of excessive water retention or hyponatremia, for which so far there is no satisfactory therapeutic treatment.