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Clonidine, an alpha-2-adrenergic agonist, increases colonic compliance, has antisecretory effects, and has been effective for treating diabetic diarrhea. Mayo Clinic investigators hypothesized that clonidine might benefit patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). In this study, they randomized 42 patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS to receive clonidine (0.05, 0.10, or 0.20 mg) or placebo twice daily for 4 weeks.
Relief of symptoms was measured by patients' responses on a weekly questionnaire and a daily stool diary. Both patients in the 0.20 mg dose group dropped out because of side effects, along with 2 of 12 patients in the 0.05-mg group. The proportion of patients who reported satisfactory relief of IBS was 46% in the placebo group…