Patent ID: 7211386

Claim:
A method for identifying a human at increased risk for developing a physiological function associated with an alpha-2A adrenergic receptor molecule comprising a lysine at amino acid 251, said method comprising the steps of obtaining information associated with a sample from the human, said information indicating the presence or absence of lysine at amino acid 251 of an alpha-2A adrenergic receptor molecule; and identifying the human at increased risk for the physiological function if lysine is present at amino acid 251 of alpha-2A adrenergic receptor molecule, wherein the physiological function is selected from an enhanced inhibition of adenylyl cyclase and enhanced stimulation of MAP kinase by the alpha-2A adrenergic receptor in response to an agonist, wherein the agonist is selected from the group consisting of a catecholamine, an azepine, and an imadazoline.