An old epilepsy drug may help curb symptoms of sleep apnea, according to a new study presented in Vienna this week.
Sleep apnea – a condition that causes people's breathing to start and stop repeatedly during sleep, affecting their oxygen levels – affects an estimated 936 million people worldwide, with moderate to severe cases affecting about 425 million people.
The study involved nearly 300 people in the Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Germany and Spain who have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) – a common form where the throat muscles relax and prevent air from flowing into the lungs.
The researchers gave them the drug sulthiame, which stimulated the muscles in the upper airways.
Over the next 12 weeks, they tracked the participants' breathing, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, eye movements, and brain and muscle activity during sleep.
They found that people who took the drug were less likely to stop breathing and had higher blood oxygen levels while they were asleep, compared to those who took a placebo.
They were also less likely to be sleepy during the day.
