Guanfacine is a medicine noted for its lowering of blood pressure and improvement of ADHD and PTSD symptoms. Its psychotropic properties have been primarily studied in children with ADHD, where it has been found to decrease impulsivity and improve other ADHD symptoms as well. Research in adults is only recently emerging. It does seem that guanfacine is an effective ADHD medicine for both adults and children, but the granular details of its effects and longer term safety/efficacy remain to be well studied.
Common side effects are sedation, fatigue, bradycardia, postural hypotension (feeling faint on rising), and constipation.
Guanfacine has also been shown to be effective in reducing anxiety and trauma-related symptoms in children and adolescence.
Several sources have suggested that it may be helpful for the emotional dysregulation component of ADHD.
It is worth noting that guanfacine is a 5HT-2B agonist, and agonism at this receptor has been associated with cardiac valvulopathies in other medicines. No such association has yet been made with guanfacine.