Major symptoms are extreme thirst and excessive urine output .
It controls the way the kidneys remove, filter, and reabsorb fluids into the blood stream. Therefore, a person with diabetes insipidus must drink large quantities of water in response to extreme thirst, to compensate for the water loss. Central diabetes insipidus is caused by damage to the hypothalamus as a result of surgery, infection, tumor , or head injury . It is much more rare than central DI, and occurs primarily as an inherited disorder that usually affects men, although women can pass the gene on to their children. It can also develop as a complication of other disorders that affect the kidney structures.