만성 정신분열병 환자의 Clonidine에 대한 Growth Hormone의 반응

Growth Hormone Response to Clonidine in Chronic Schizophrenic Patients

To investigate the functional state of noradrenergic system in chronic schizophrenia, clonidine(0.15 mg) was administered to chronic schizophrenic patients, and age and sex-matched normal controls. The mean increment of growth hormone(GH) of the patients after clonidine injection was not significantly different from that of controls. There was no significant correlation between the GH response to clonidine and duration of illness, duration of antipsychotic drug therapy, the last dose of antipsychotic drugs or clinical symptom scores of the patients. But those who showed blunted GH response had been medicated with significantly higher dose of antipsychotic drugs than the others, and there was significant positive correlation between positive symptom score and the dose of antipsychotic drugs. This result suggests that post synaptic a^-adrenergic receptor in hypothalamus is hyposensitized by high dose of antipsychotic drugs. The relationship of positive symptoms of schizophrenia and GH response to clonidine is left undetermined.