Children with ADHD and Oppositional Symptoms Respond to Guanfacine
Researcher Daniel Connor reported at the 65th Annual Scientific Convention of the Society of Biological Psychiatry that children aged 6-12 with oppositional symptomatology and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) improved on guanfacine XR.
Doses ranged from 1 to 4 mg/day, with a mean dose of 2.9 mg/day. There was a substantial decrease in oppositionality (a finding with a moderate effect size of 0.59) and a marked decrease in ADHD symptomatology (a finding with a large effect size of 0.92). Side effects included drowsiness (in 51% of subjects), headache (22%), sedation (13%), abdominal pain (12%) and fatigue (11%). Guanfacine is not a psychomotor stimulant, like most of the treatments for ADHD are, but an agonist (activator) of noradrenergic ?2 receptors in the brain.
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