Clonidine in respiratory panic disorder subtype.

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.