Hypertension, Vol 2, 83-89, Copyright © 1980 by American Heart Association
RM Boyar, DF Fixler, NM Kaplan, RM Graham, KP Price, JJ Chipman and WP Laird
To assess the potential of antihypertensive drugs for interference with
somatic growth and sexual development in hypertensive children, the effect
of clonidine therapy on various endocrine, cardiovascular, and
neuromuscular functions has been examined in five male adolescents with
idiopathic hypertension. In studies done before and at the end of 4 weeks
of twice-daily clonidine therapy, in an average daily dose of 0.31 mg, no
significant effects were noted in the secretory patterns of growth hormone,
luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, prolactin, cortisol,
aldosterone, or testosterone, measured in blood obtained every 20 minutes
for 24 hours. In blood obtained while the patients were supine and then
erect, plasma renin activity and norepinephrine levels were significantly
lowered after clonidine therapy. Cardiovascular responses to dynamic
exercise were little altered beyond a 17% decrease in maximal oxygen
consumption. The performance of fine motor skills was minimally altered.
These data provide preliminary evidence that clonidine, an antihypertensive
drug that affects the adrenergic nervous system, may not interfere with
normal growth and maturation in adolescent males.
ARTICLES
Effects of clonidine on 24-hour hormonal secretory patterns, cardiovascular hemodynamics, and central nervous function in hypertensive adolescents
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