The project was initiated to test the efficacy of clonidine in treating a subset of symptoms in a population of schizoaffective patients. Specifically, the target symptoms are paranoia, agitation, hostility , or hyperactivity. The study is based on the hypothesis that overactivity of the noradrenergic system may be responsible, at least in part, for producing these symptoms. Clonidine is an alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonist and consequently decreases the activity of norepinephrine systems. The study plans to administer clonidine orally to inpatients with schizoaffective illness in a double-blind, placebo-controlled fashion. Patients may be receiving concomitant neuroleptic medication during the study. Aside from testing a potentially therapeutic agent, the study will provide additional data in understanding symptom production in psychotic patients. During this time period, the major activities have been study design, procurement of matched active and placebo clonidine, and volunteer recruitment.
