Clonidine<\/a>, an \u03b12-adrenergic receptor agonist, decreases circulating norepinephrin<\/a>e and epinephrine<\/a>, attenuating sympathetic activity<\/a>.<\/p>\n Although catechol-O-methyltransferase <\/a>(COMT) metabolizes catecholamines, main effectors of sympathetic function, COMT genetic variation effects on clonidine treatment are unknown. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is hypothesized to result in part from dysregulated sympathetic function.<\/p>\n A candidate gene analysis of COMT rs4680 effects on clinical outcomes in the Norwegian Study of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Adolescents: Pathophysiology and Intervention Trial (NorCAPITAL), a randomized double-blinded clonidine versus placebo trial, was conducted (N=104).<\/p>\n Patients homozygous for rs4680 high-activity allele randomized to clonidine took 2500 fewer steps compared with placebo (P_interaction=0.04). There were no differences between clonidine and placebo among patients with COMT low-activity alleles. Similar gene-drug interactions were observed for sleep (P_interaction=0.003) and quality of life (P_interaction=0.018).<\/p>\n Detrimental effects of clonidine in the subset of CFS patients homozygous for COMT high-activity allele warrant investigation of potential clonidine-COMT interaction effects in other conditions.<\/p>\n Genetic variation in catechol-O-methyltransferase modifies effects of clonidine treatment in chronic fatigue syndrom<\/a>e, by KT Hall, J Kossowsky, TF Oberlander, TJ Kaptchuk, JP Saul, VB Wyller, E Fagermoen, D Sulheim, J Gjerstad, A Winger, KJ Mukama in<\/span> the Pharmacogenomics Journal<\/em> [online publication 26 July 2016]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Research abstract: Clonidine, an \u03b12-adrenergic receptor agonist, decreases circulating norepinephrine and epinephrine, attenuating sympathetic activity. Although catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) metabolizes catecholamines, main effectors of sympathetic function, COMT genetic variation effects on clonidine treatment are unknown. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is hypothesized … Continue reading