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Am J Med. 1982 Sep;73(3):354-6.
Hypodipsia in geriatric patients.
Miller PD, Krebs RA, Neal BJ, McIntyre DO.
Abstract

Hypernatremia in elderly patients is most often due to the patients mental incapacity or physical inability to obtain water despite intact thirst sensation. Hypodipsia leading to hypernatremia is not often considered in alert, elderly subjects since hypodipsia is not a recognized consequence of nonaphasia-producing cerebrovascular accidents. Described herein are six elderly patients who had such cerebrovascular accidents and who had recurrent hospitalizations for dehydration and hypernatremia. Hypernatremia in this group was due to hypodipsia and could only be prevented by prescribing daily fluid intake as a medication order. Hypodipsia should be considered as a cause of hypernatremia in elderly subjects even when they seem fully capable of requesting and obtaining water.

PMID:
    7124762
    [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] 

===========================

Mov Disord. 2011 Apr;26(5):901-5. doi: 10.1002/mds.23587. Epub 2011 Mar 7.
Hypodipsia discriminates progressive supranuclear palsy from other parkinsonian syndromes.
Stamelou M1, Christ H, Reuss A, Oertel W, Höglinger G.
Author information

    * 1Department of Neurology, Philipps University, Marburg, Germany. stamelou@staff.uni-marburg.de

Abstract
BACKGROUND:

The objective of this study was to evaluate whether the sensation of thirst differs between patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multiple system atrophy with predominant parkinsonism (MSA-P), and Parkinson's disease (PD).
METHODS:

We administered a standardized thirst questionnaire to age-, sex-, and stage-matched patients with probable PSP, PD, and MSA-P and healthy controls (HC), n = 15/group. In an independent cohort (n = 10/group), we provoked thirst by infusing hypertonic NaCl in age-, sex-, and stage-matched patients with PSP, PD, and MSA-P and recorded plasma osmolality and thirst (visual analog scale).
RESULTS:

On questioning, 73% of PSP patients reported a reduced sensation of thirst (hypodipsia) compared with previous years (HC, 0%; PD, 7%; MSA-P, 7%; P < .0001). On NaCl infusion, PSP patients reported significantly lower thirst than did PD and MSA-P patients for all times from 20 to 95 minutes (P < .05). The thirst score at 25 minutes discriminated individual PSP patients well from PD and MSA-P patients.
CONCLUSIONS:

Hypodipsia appears helpful in differentiating PSP from PD and MSA-P.

Copyright © 2011 Movement Disorder Society.

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http://ckj.oxfordjournals.org/content/4/4/236.full
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/16073841_Hypodipsia_in_geriatric_patients