Growth hormone response to clonidine in obsessive-compulsive patients.
We have observed a lesser growth hormone response to intravenous clonidine administration in nine obsessive-compulsive disorder patients meeting research diagnostic criteria than in nine matched controls. The obsessive-compulsive disorder patients had higher plasma free 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol and plasma norepinephrine levels before clonidine than the controls. As blunted growth hormone responses to clonidine are also characteristic of affective disorder patients, these results support other observations of a psychobiologic affinity between these two groups and are also compatible with an association between increased presynaptic noradrenergic activity and decreased post-synaptic receptor responsiveness.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003000:Clonidine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008734:Methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000097:blood; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000097:blood*
D008734:Methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol; D013006:Growth Hormone; D003000:Clonidine; D009638:Norepinephrine