Growth hormone release in normal children after oral clonidine 4 micrograms/kg.

Oral clonidine 4 micrograms/kg was given to 32 normal children, 18 males and 14 females with the mean age of 8.44 +/- 3.18 years. All were healthy and had normal growth. They were fasted overnight and throughout the test. Blood specimens were taken in the morning at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after clonidine ingestion. The mean basal plasma GH level was 1.81 +/- 2.07 ng/ml. The range of peak GH response was 18.7-67.3 ng/ml mostly at 90 minutes after clonidine with the mean value of 30.92 +/- 10.97 ng/ml. There were no serious undesired effects. It is concluded that with the oral dose of 4 micrograms/kg, clonidine is a safe and potent GH provocative agent with reliable and satisfactory results.