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Clonidine in respiratory panic disorder subtype
Alexandre M Valença1, Antonio E Nardi, Marco A Mezzasalma
1Laboratory of Panic & Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. avalen@uol.com.br
Objective:
Clonidine, which inhibits locus coeruleus discharge, would seem for theoretical reasons to be a good antipanic drug. Panic disorder (PD) presents a heterogeneous cluster of symptoms and a classification based on subtypes has been suggested and the respiratory symptoms group appears as a distinct subtype.
Method:
We report three cases of respiratory PD patients who were successfully treated with clonidine.
Results:
Patients obtained panic free status, reduced anxiety levels and better functioning after clonidine administration (0.30-0.45 mg/day) for 6 weeks.
Conclusion:
Clonidine can be effective in the treatment of respiratory PD. This drug might play a role in relieving symptoms of anxiety due to noradrenergic hyperactivity in these patients.
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