A new drug could put an end to cumbersome CPAP machines, which are estimated to be used by some 33 million Americans to manage their sleep apnea.
Approximately 39 million Americans, including President Biden, currently have sleep apnea. The most common form of this disorder is obstructive sleep apnea. In patients with OSA, the upper airways partially or completely close during sleep, blocking airflow to the lungs and causing breathing to repeatedly start and stop.
In addition to risks such as death, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and eventually cognitive decline and dementia, OSA contributes to a serious decline in sleep quality.
The respiratory disease is largely underdiagnosed, with the Cleveland Clinic reporting that 85 to 90 percent of people with sleep apnea don’t know they have it.
According to The Post, symptoms of OSA include:
- Excessive daytime sleepiness.
- Observed episodes of cessation of breathing during sleep.
- Waking up during the night and gasping or choking.
- Wake up in the morning with a dry mouth or sore throat.
- Morning headaches.
- Difficulty concentrating during the day.
- Mood changes, such as depression or being easily upset.
- High blood pressure.
- Decreased interest in sex.
A CPAP machine – which stands for “continuous positive airway pressure” – forces air into the body through a face mask and is the most common treatment for OSA.
However, because CPAPs are both bulky and expensive, many sleep apnea patients do not use these devices.
Dr. David Kuhlmann, director of sleep medicine at Bothwell Regional Health Center in Sedalia, Mo., and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, told WebMD, “In my patients, I would say that a quarter of them do not comply. on the machine and require further treatment,” mainly because they “just don’t want to wear a mask at night.”
Kuhlman maintains that, despite many patients’ reluctance to use CPAPs, no treatment compares to the effectiveness of these machines, which provide users with continuous air throughout the night.
There are currently no medications approved to treat sleep apnea, but the makers of a new pill hope to change that.
Researchers at Apnimed, a Massachusetts-based company, have developed a drug called AD109. The investigational drug is a combination of aroxybutynin, used to treat symptoms of an overactive bladder, and atomoxetine, used to treat ADHD.
Both drugs are designed to help keep people asleep, and in tandem, they could prevent a person’s airway from collapsing during the night.
According to the published study, the drug showed “clinically significant improvement in (sleep apnea), suggesting that further development of the compound is warranted.”
In addition to promising improvements, phase II trials of the drug indicated no major side effects.
However, airways and green lights are not always clear.
The study found that AD109 was more effective for patients with mild cases of OSA than those with severe symptoms. Kuhlmann explains: “It appears that AD109 is dealing more with a softer spectrum than perhaps those who would benefit the most from it. »
Kuhlman notes that oxygen saturation data is strangely absent from the trial study. This measurement refers to the number of circulating red blood cells in your body that are fully saturated with oxygen. This percentage fluctuates throughout the day, measuring between 95% and 100% in healthy individuals. The percentage may decrease during sleep but should not fall below 90%.
For OSA patients, these levels change significantly during the night, falling as much as 70%. The absence of this data in AD109 testing makes it difficult to predict how the drug will support patients long-term.
A third trial of the drug is currently underway.
For people with OSA who are looking to avoid both prescription medications and CPAP machines, lifestyle changes like losing weight, reducing alcohol consumption, and quitting smoking are helpful. are found to be beneficial. For others, the cure may depend on what’s on their fork; Researchers at Flinders University in Australia found that those who adopted a vegetarian or vegan diet were almost 20% less likely to develop OSA than their meat-eating counterparts.
News Source : nypost.com
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