Clonidine treatment of Alzheimer's disease
E. Mohr, J. Schlegel, G. Fabbrini, J. Williams, M. M. Mouradian, U. M. Mann, J. J. Claus, P. Fedio and T. N. Chase
Medical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, MD 20892.
A loss of cortical noradrenergic innervation may contribute to the
intellectual deterioration in Alzheimer's disease. To test the hypothesis
that noradrenergic replacement may confer symptomatic benefit, a
double-blind, placebo-controlled therapeutic trial with clonidine
hydrochloride (Catapres), a centrally active noradrenergic receptor
agonist, was undertaken in eight patients with the clinical diagnosis of
Alzheimer's disease. No statistically significant changes in cognitive
function were found over a range of doses, including those that produced
clinically observable side effects. These preliminary results indicate a
need for alternative noradrenergic replacement strategies in Alzheimer's
disease.
