European Journal of Endocrinology
August 1, 2026
Liv-Helen Lang, Sara-Jessica Camerin, Michelle Müller et al.
Patients with arginine vasopressin (AVP) deficiency (formerly central diabetes insipidus) often report social and emotional deficits and heightened anxiety. Growing evidence suggests that these symptoms may, at least partly, reflect concomitant OXT deficiency. OXT plays a key role in increasing empathy and improving emotion recognition. This analysis aimed to examine empathy and emotion...
Endocrine connections
June 1, 2025
Cihan Atila, Sara-Jessica Camerin, Matthias E. Liechti et al.
2 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), a psychoactive substance, has been proposed as a novel provocation test for oxytocin deficiency. Limited evidence suggests that MDMA may also stimulate the anterior pituitary. Therefore, this analysis aimed to investigate the acute effect of MDMA on the anterior pituitary in healthy adults. This secondary analysis utilized data from a double-blind,...
European Journal of Endocrinology
March 27, 2025
Cihan Atila, Andi Nikaj, Svenja Leibnitz et al.
9 citations
Oxytocin (OXT) deficiency is a recently identified novel psycho-neuroendocrine entity associated with anxiety and reduced prosocial behavior. However, diagnosis and clinical progress have been hindered by challenges in reliably measuring OXT. Neurophysin I (NP-I), an equimolarly co-released cleavage product of the OXT precursor peptide, offers a promising alternative biomarker due to its...
JAMA Network Open
November 4, 2024
Cihan Atila, Isabelle Straumann, Patrick Vizeli et al.
15 citations
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, or ecstasy) is a recreational drug being investigated for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. Acute hyponatremia is a potentially serious complication after even a single dose of MDMA. The assumed etiology has been a vasopressin release inducing the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis combined with increased thirst, causing polydipsia and...
Journal of the Endocrine Society
October 1, 2023
Cihan Atila, Friederike Holze, Rakithan Murugesu et al.
Abstract Disclosure: C. Atila: None. F. Holze: None. R. Murugesu: None. N. Rommers: None. N. Hutter: None. N. Varghese: None. C.O. Sailer: None. A. Eckert: None. M. Heinrichs: None. M. Liechti: None. M. Christ-crain: None. Introduction: Despite adequate treatment, patients with arginine vasopressin deficiency (AVP-D), known as central diabetes insipidus (cDI), often report psychological...
The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology
July 2023
Cihan Atila, Friederike Holze, Rakithan Murugesu et al.
Disruptions of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis can cause an arginine vasopressin deficiency, also known as central diabetes insipidus. Patients with this condition are at high risk of additional oxytocin deficiency owing to the close anatomical proximity of oxytocin-producing neurons; however, no conclusive evidence for such a deficiency has been reported. We aimed to use...