Clonidine and the hormonal responses to graded exercise in healthy subjects

The aim of this study was to assess the acute effects of clonidine, an alpha 2-adrenergic agonist, on hormonal responses to graded exercise in 8 healthy young men. After fasting overnight, each subject was tested on 2 mornings, 1 week apart. On one occasion he was given 200 micrograms clonidine orally and on the other identical placebo tablets, the order being randomized in a double-blind fashion over the 2 days. Thereafter each subject performed 2 successive treadmill runs, equivalent to 60 and 100%, respectively, of maximal aerobic power. Clonidine pretreatment blunted the maximal increase in plasma catecholamines by more than 60% of the control response (p less than 0.01), without significantly altering the rise of plasma cortisol or ACTH. Furthermore, clonidine significantly reduced the exercise-induced maximal rise in plasma glucose, without modifying the slight decline in mean plasma insulin or increase in pancreatic glucagon levels. The drug did not affect the maximal increments in plasma growth hormone or prolactin occurring after exercise. It was concluded that a single dose of clonidine suppressed peripheral sympathetic responses, without altering central (pituitary) alpha-adrenergic-mediated hormonal responses, to short-term exercise in healthy men.