Posted by mav27 on January 3, 2009, at 2:41:31
In reply to Re: How to decrease NE ? » SLS, posted by SLS on January 2, 2009, at 7:43:45
> > I forgot to mention that clonidine seems to be specific for certain areas of the brain. It binds to a subtype of NE-alpha that is expressed in the vasomotor center in the brainstem. This is how the drug works to reduce sympathetic tone and thus reduce blood pressure and heart rate peripherally. I don't know anything more about clonidine to know if it would be ideal for accomplishing your goal. My guess is that it wouldn't.
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> I did a little snooping.
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> I may have guessed wrong. Some very recent work demonstrates that the NE-alpha2A receptor subtype (clonidine being an agonist of), in addition to congregating in the brain stem to reduce blood pressure, seems to actually enhance cognitive performance in Rhesus monkeys. This increase in performance was reversed by known NE-alpha2A receptor antagonists. Both the A and C subtypes are now known to be additionally localized in the prefrontal cortex, with the A subtype the more prevalent. I bet this is relevant to the ability of clonidine to improve ADD/ADHD.
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> Guanfacine is a selective agonist of the 2A/D receptors. You might want to look into it.
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> - Scott
>Awesome... do you have a link to a study online or something with that info ? Something i can show my pdoc.
I just checked Guanfacine but it isn't available here.
cheers
poster:mav27
thread:871750
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081223/msgs/872055.html