Is clonidine a behavioural teratogen in the human?
Twenty-two children prenatally exposed to clonidine and no other hypotensive drugs were compared at a mean age of 6.3 +/- 1.6 years to a non-exposed control group, matched for degree of maternal hypertension, sex, birthweight and gestational age. There were no differences in head circumference, neurological findings, school performance and a number of behavioural characteristics except for a marginal excess of hyperactivity and an excess of sleep disturbances in the study group. It is questionable whether the differences represent a direct effect of clonidine on prenatal development but the dose-effect relationship and the fact that the same effects have been found in rats suggest that this may be so.
D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000139:chemically induced*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003000:Clonidine / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy; D008297:Male; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000188:drug therapy; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000188:drug therapy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced*
D003000:Clonidine