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.