An Open Trial of Guanfacine in the Treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Abstract
Objective Medications such as clonidine have been shown to facilitate calming, to enhance frustration tolerance, and to reduce aggression in hyperactive children. The use of guanfacine (Tenex), an alpha 2 noradrenergic agonist similar to clonidine, was studied as an alternative because of its longer excretion half-life, decreased sedative side effects, and more selective binding profile. Method Thirteen psychiatric outpatients diagnosed with ADHD were rated at baseline and while taking guanfacine to determine its efficacy as a treatment for ADHD. Comparisons of Conners parent ratings within subject were used to measure behavioral changes in the subjects. Results During guanfacine treatment, patients' mean scores improved significantly overall (1.27 off, 0.85 on, t = 2.55, p Conclusions This preliminary study indicates that guanfacine is a beneficial and useful treatment of ADHD, reducing hyperactive behaviors and enabling greater attentional ability with minimal side effects. We are currently collecting data in a double-blind study measuring guanfacine's efficacy with and in comparison to methylphenidate.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Guanfacine relieves cardinal symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents, including improved impulse control and better regulation of attention, in early small trials and later large Phase III studies.
“Guanfacine has been shown to relieve cardinal symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents, including improved impulse control and better regulation of attention, in early, small trials (Hunt et al., 1995, Scahill et al., 2001), and later in multiple, large Phase III studies”
From Guanfacine’s mechanism of action in treating prefrontal cortical disorders: Successful translation across species (2020) · cites this paper as Hunt et al., 1995
Cites
ASSESSMENT OF COMA AND IMPAIRED CONSCIOUSNESS
Teasdale, G., & Jennett, B. (1974) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(74)91639-0 · Cited by 13,215 · see citing works
Arnsten, A. F. T., & Goldman-Rakic, P. S. (1985) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.2999977 · Cited by 549 · see citing works
Self-citationClonidine in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
HUNT, R. D., CAPPER, L., & O'CONNELL, P. (1990) · Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1089/cap.1990.1.87 · Cited by 127 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Berridge, C. W., & Waterhouse, B. D. (2003) · Brain Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/s0165-0173(03)00143-7 · Cited by 2,529 · see citing works
Neurobiology of Executive Functions: Catecholamine Influences on Prefrontal Cortical Functions
Arnsten, A. F. T., & Li, B.-M. (2005) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.08.019 · Cited by 948 · see citing works
Self-citationSolanto, M. V. (1998) · Behavioural Brain Research · doi:10.1016/s0166-4328(97)00175-7 · Cited by 677 · see citing works
Dulcan, M. (1997) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199710001-00007 · Cited by 628 · see citing works
Scahill, L., Chappell, P. B., Kim, Y. S., Schultz, R. T., Katsovich, L., Shepherd, E., Arnsten, A. F. T., Cohen, D. J., & Leckman, J. F. (2001) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.158.7.1067 · Cited by 588 · see citing works
Self-citationTreatment of ADHD in children with tics: A randomized controlled trial
The Tourette’s Syndrome Study Group (2002) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.58.4.527 · Cited by 504 · see citing works
Halperin, J. M., & Schulz, K. P. (2006) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.132.4.560 · Cited by 446 · see citing works
Sallee, F. R., Mcgough, J., Wigal, T., Donahue, J., Lyne, A., & Biederman, J. (2009) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/chi.0b013e318191769e · Cited by 391 · see citing works
Effective Treatment for Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents
Burns, B. J., Hoagwood, K., & Mrazek, P. J. (1999) · Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review · doi:10.1023/a:1021826216025 · Cited by 385 · see citing works
Biederman, J., Melmed, R. D., Patel, A., McBurnett, K., Konow, J., Lyne, A., Scherer, N., & for the SPD503 Study Group (2008) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2006-3695 · Cited by 317 · see citing works
Contemporary assessment and pharmacotherapy of Tourette syndrome
Scahill, L., Erenberg, G., Berlin, C. M., Budman, C., Coffey, B. J., Jankovic, J., Kiessling, L., King, R. A., Kurlan, R., Lang, A., et al. (2006) · NeuroRX · doi:10.1016/j.nurx.2006.01.009 · Cited by 300 · see citing works
Vetter, V. L., Elia, J., Erickson, C., Berger, S., Blum, N., Uzark, K., & Webb, C. L. (2008) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/circulationaha.107.189473 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
Biederman, J., Melmed, R. D., Patel, A., McBurnett, K., Donahue, J., & Lyne, A. (2008) · CNS Spectrums · doi:10.1017/s1092852900017107 · Cited by 270 · see citing works
Spencer, T. J., Greenbaum, M., Ginsberg, L. D., & Murphy, W. R. (2009) · Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1089/cap.2008.0152 · Cited by 257 · see citing works
CHAPPELL, P. B., RIDDLE, M. A., SCAHILL, L., LYNCH, K. A., SCHULTZ, R., ARNSTEN, A., LECKMAN, J. F., & COHEN, D. J. (1995) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199509000-00010 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Self-citationThrough the looking glass: Differential noradenergic modulation of prefrontal cortical function
Arnsten, A. F. T. (2000) · Neural Plasticity · doi:10.1155/np.2000.133 · Cited by 229 · see citing works
Self-citationTaylor, F. B., & Russo, J. (2001) · Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1097/00004714-200104000-00015 · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Non?stimulant medications in the treatment of ADHD
Banaschewski, T., Roessner, V., Dittmann, R. W., Janardhanan Santosh, P., & Rothenberger, A. (2004) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-004-1010-x · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Newcorn, J. H., Spencer, T. J., Biederman, J., Milton, D. R., & Michelson, D. (2005) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-200503000-00008 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
Hirota, T., Schwartz, S., & Correll, C. U. (2014) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2013.11.009 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Guanfacine treatment of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia
Friedman, J. (2001) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1016/s0893-133x(01)00249-4 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Fox, H. C., Seo, D., Tuit, K., Hansen, J., Kimmerling, A., Morgan, P. T., & Sinha, R. (2012) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881111430746 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
The Neurobiology of Thought: The Groundbreaking Discoveries of Patricia Goldman-Rakic 1937-2003
Arnsten, A. F. T. (2013) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bht195 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Self-citationLocomotor hyperactivity induced by blockade of prefrontal cortical α2-adrenoceptors in monkeys
Ma, C.-L., Arnsten, A. F. T., & Li, B.-M. (2005) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.11.004 · Cited by 96 · see citing works
Self-citationGarland, E. J. (1998) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/026988119801200410 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Arnsten, A. F. T. (2020) · Neurobiology of Learning and Memory · doi:10.1016/j.nlm.2020.107327 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Self-citationLack of effects of guanfacine on executive and memory functions in healthy male volunteers
Müller, U., Clark, L., Lam, M. L., Moore, R. M., Murphy, C. L., Richmond, N. K., Sandhu, R. S., Wilkins, I. A., Menon, D. K., Sahakian, B. J., et al. (2005) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-005-0078-4 · Cited by 73 · see citing works
McAllister, T. W., McDonald, B. C., Flashman, L. A., Ferrell, R. B., Tosteson, T. D., Yanofsky, N. N., Grove, M. R., & Saykin, A. J. (2011) · International Journal of Psychophysiology · doi:10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.06.022 · Cited by 70 · see citing works
ADHD in Children, Adolescents, and Adults
Katragadda, S., & Schubiner, H. (2007) · Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice · doi:10.1016/j.pop.2007.04.012 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Alpha-2 adrenergic agonists in children with inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness
Scahill, L. (2009) · CNS Drugs · doi:10.2165/00023210-200923000-00006 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Arnsten, A. F. T., & Wang, M. (2016) · Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology · doi:10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-010715-103617 · Cited by 50 · see citing works
Self-citationFaraone, S. V., McBurnett, K., Sallee, F. R., Steeber, J., & López, F. A. (2013) · Clinical Therapeutics · doi:10.1016/j.clinthera.2013.09.005 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Drug and non-drug treatments of children with ADHD and tic disorders
Poncin, Y., Sukhodolsky, D. G., McGuire, J., & Scahill, L. (2007) · European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1007/s00787-007-1010-8 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Faraone, S. V., & Glatt, S. J. (2010) · Journal of Attention Disorders · doi:10.1177/1087054709332472 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Fox, H., Sofuoglu, M., & Sinha, R. (2015) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881114562464 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Pharmacological Treatment of Cognitive Dysfunction in Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Venero, C. (2015) · Cognitive Enhancement · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-417042-1.00010-3 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
- Authors
- Hunt, R. D., Arnsten, A. F. T., & Asbell, M. D.
- Affiliations
- Vanderbilt University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hunt, Robert D.
- ORCID
- Arnsten, Amy F.T.
- Venue
- Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1995-01
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 50-54
- ISSN
- 0890-8567 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1982166376
- Cited by
- 308
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 13.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Pharmaceutical studies and practices
- Keywords
- guanfacine, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, alpha-2 adrenergic agonists, ADHD medication, hyperactivity, inattention, sedative side effects
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Male, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Guanfacine, Treatment Outcome
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
