Sleep apnea is a problem where people stop breathing for short periods while they sleep. Almost a billion people around the world have this issue.
Researchers from Flinders University in Australia found that a drug used for treating depression might help people with sleep apnea.
What did the Researchers Do?
The researchers didn’t find a cure, but they did find a possible new treatment.
This treatment could help people who can’t use current sleep apnea treatments, like continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machines.
Dr. Thomas Altree, the lead author of the study, said that sleep apnea can cause poor sleep and tiredness during the day. It can greatly affect people’s health and work.
Past studies found that combining the drugs reboxetine and oxybutynin could help treat sleep apnea. But, these drugs can cause side effects. The researchers wanted to see if reboxetine alone could help.
The Study and its Findings
The researchers conducted a high-standard drug trial with 16 people who have sleep apnea. They worked with the Woolcock Institute in Sydney on this trial.
They tested single doses of reboxetine alone, and compared it to the combination of reboxetine and oxybutynin or a placebo.
Dr. Altree said that reboxetine alone can lessen sleep apnea. The drug reduced the number of times the patients stopped breathing while asleep. It also improved their oxygen levels.
The team used a special computer method to see how the drug stabilizes breathing during sleep. This can help them identify who might benefit most from the drug in the future.
What it Means
The researchers’ findings are the first to show that reboxetine alone can lessen sleep apnea.
They also learned more about how norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (the kind of drug reboxetine is) can stabilize breathing during sleep.
Currently, the main treatment for sleep apnea is using a CPAP machine during sleep. But not everyone can tolerate this treatment.
Dr. Altree said that it’s important to find other ways to help people with sleep apnea. This study is a big step towards that goal.
If you care about sleep, please read studies about painkillers that could harm your sleep, and heavy blankets could harm sleep.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about new drug treating both heart failure and sleep apnea, and results showing that yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.
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