A new drug to protect against sleep apnea

A new drug to protect against sleep apnea

Sleep apnea can negatively impact health and well-being, but treatment is limited to CPAP masks and, in the worst cases, surgery. But a recent trial has shown promise as a treatment for the most common sleep-related breathing disorder.

Negative consequences

According to New Atlas, citing the journal Heart and Circulatory Physiology, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) occurs when the upper airway collapses during sleep, reducing or completely preventing airflow. This condition occurs primarily due to a combination of poor throat anatomy and insufficient muscle function during sleep, which results in decreased oxygen intake and awakenings, which can have negative health and safety consequences, including daytime fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and high blood pressure. the blood.

Treatments with limited effect

Treatment for OSA is limited, as it relies primarily on a machine that provides continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to prevent the airway from collapsing. Unfortunately, about half of people who use CPAP machines have difficulty tolerating them. Therefore, about 50% of cases may require surgery to repair the anatomical obstruction.

Innovative nasal spray

Researchers from Flinders University in Australia conducted a small trial using a nasal spray to treat obstructive apnea and found promising results. Professor Danny Eckert, one of the researchers involved in the study from the Faculty of Medicine and Public Health at Flinders University, said: “Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder, has been linked to a variety of medical conditions including cardiovascular disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, anxiety and depression.” A nasal spray that delivers potassium channel blockers topically to the airway muscles has been tested to see if it reduces the severity of OSA symptoms.

Potassium channel blockers

Amal Othman, lead researcher on the study, said: “Potassium channel blockers are a class of drugs that block the potassium channel in the central nervous system. “When used in a nasal spray, blockers have the ability to increase activity of the muscles that keep the upper airway open and reduce the likelihood of throat collapse during sleep.”

“What we discovered is that the nasal spray application of the potassium channel blockers that we tested was safe and well-tolerated,” Othman said, noting that “those who had a physiological improvement in airway function during sleep also had a 25-45% reduction in signs of apnea severity.” During sleep, this includes improved oxygen levels as well as lower blood pressure the next day.”

Expanding treatment options

The study findings offer a new way to expand treatment options for people with OSA. Professor Eckert said: “These insights provide a potential path to developing new treatment solutions for those people with sleep apnea who cannot tolerate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines and/or sleep apnea. Or upper airway surgery, and those who have a desire to find alternatives to existing treatments.” “Currently, there are no approved medications to treat sleep apnea, but through these findings and future research, we are one step closer to developing new, effective, safe, and easy-to-use medications.”

Sagittarius love horoscope for the year 2024