Understanding the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of drugs used in psychopharmacology across the pediatric age spectrum from infants to adolescents represents a major challenge for clinicians. In pediatrics, treatment protocols use either standard dose reductions for these drugs for children below a certain age or use less conventional…

Seven medication-free autistic subjects (ages 6-19) were administered clonidine and L-Dopa to investigate neuroendocrine responses through changes in growth hormone levels. Findings showed that, compared to normal controls, the L-Dopa-stimulated growth hormone peak was delayed and the clonidine growth hormone peak was premature. (Author/JDD)