A new study has found that the drug sulthiame can help people with obstructive sleep apnea by reducing breathing pauses and improving sleep quality.
This is welcome news for the many patients who struggle to use the traditional CPAP breathing mask.
The study was led in part by researchers from the University of Gothenburg and was published in the respected medical journal The Lancet.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition where the upper airways close off during sleep, causing repeated interruptions in breathing.
These pauses often lead to poor sleep and lower oxygen levels in the blood. Over time, untreated sleep apnea can increase the risk of serious health issues, including high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
Right now, the most common treatment is continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP. This involves wearing a mask connected to a machine that helps keep the airways open during sleep.
Although CPAP is very effective, many people find the mask uncomfortable or hard to use. In fact, up to half of all patients stop using their CPAP machines within the first year.
That’s why the results of this new drug study are so important. The clinical trial involved 298 people with moderate to severe sleep apnea.
The participants were randomly divided into groups: some were given a placebo (a pill with no active drug), while others were given sulthiame in different doses.
The study was conducted across four European countries and was double-blind, which means that neither the patients nor the researchers knew who received the actual drug.
The study found that people who took the higher doses of sulthiame had up to 47% fewer breathing interruptions during sleep compared to those who received the placebo. These patients also had better oxygen levels in their blood.
The drug works by helping to stabilize the body’s breathing system and increase the drive to breathe, making it less likely that the upper airway will collapse during sleep.
Most of the side effects from the drug were mild and went away on their own. This is important because it suggests that sulthiame could be a safer and easier option for many patients.
Sulthiame is not a brand-new drug. It is already approved for use in children with a certain type of epilepsy. This means doctors already know a lot about how it works and what side effects to expect. Now, researchers are exploring whether it can be safely used to treat sleep apnea as well.
Professor Jan Hedner, a senior expert in lung medicine at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, has been working on this approach for many years. He calls the results a possible breakthrough and hopes that larger and longer studies will confirm the drug’s long-term safety and effectiveness.
Other key contributors to the study from the University of Gothenburg include Ludger Grote and Kaj Stenlöf.
In summary, this study shows that sleep apnea might one day be treated with pills instead of masks. For the many people who find CPAP difficult to use, sulthiame could offer a simpler, more comfortable way to manage their condition and protect their health.
If you care about sleep, please read studies that Sleeping pill lowers key Alzheimer’s disease markers and Scientists discover the link between sleep apnea and dementia risk.
For more health information, please read studies that Common sleep supplement could improve memory and Scientists find link between short sleep and higher risk of long COVID.
The study is published in The Lancet.
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