Sleep Apnea: Daydreaming for a cure!

Sleep apnea is a condition which is characterized by a disruption in a person’s sleeping pattern. Sleep apnea is more common than we think. Many people suffer from sleep apnea and are never treated. Sleep apnea can result in a constant state of fatigue and lethargy, often daydreaming, and has become a common topic of interest in today’s healthcare, especially since this condition is associated with other major health problems that plague America like obesity and diabetes. That is why labs have conducted tests and other samples of studies to show how treatments have become more innovative to answer the health needs of today.

Researchers, Terri Weaver, Michael Calik, Sarah Farabi, and others, have compiled the innovative treatments for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Understanding the condition and its prevalence is one important objective of these researchers’ review study published in the journal Nature and Science of Sleep. Some common treatments for OSA involve ways to promote greater air pressure in breathing. This type of device is known as a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device. In order to increase continual usage of these devices, patients seem to stick to treatment more when they have been involved in interventions related to their sleep apnea.

Another type of device that is meant to relieve OSA symptoms, and help patients sleep better, is positive nasal airway pressure, known as a nasal expiratory positive airway pressure (nEPAP) device. This device alleviates airway pressure through effecting airway resistance. These devices cause low resistance during inhalations and higher resistance during exhalations. These treatments have shown effectiveness in multiple studies.

Oral therapy treatments have also been used to treat OSA. These therapies are more innovative. The point of this type of treatment is to prevent possible obstruction by the tongue and soft pallet of the mouth. A vacuum will pull the tongue and soft pallet together, and this prevents any possible obstructions during sleep; this treatment is still being tested. New methods of treatment are being tested like electrical stimulation of the upper airway. Past studies have supported this method of treatment.

In more current treatments, electrodes will be used to stimulate muscle activity in the upper airway. This is done through stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve. These electrodes will stimulate specific muscles of the tongue; they are connected to a surgically inserted device that monitors breathing and sends out stimulation signals to control the electrodes in the tongue.

Drugs have also been used to treat OSA. The purpose of these drugs are to increase the airway muscles. One drug that has been associated with this condition, and has been on the mainstream, is cannabinoids.

Studies have tested the effectiveness of treatment and intervention using home and lab based participants who were diagnosed with OSA. In this case study, there were two outcomes that were tested: the CPAP treatment application, and the effect on the participants’ overall conditions (Carol et. al, 2012). The results showed that lab and home treated participants equally applied the CPAP treatment at above 90%. Treatment usage and duration were higher in the home based participants compared to people in the lab group. The results of both groups were relatively the same, though participants in the home based treatment groups were more active in their treatment applications.

This study showed that home treatment of OSA is just as useful as lab based treatments. People have the ability to administer their own treatments and handle their own health problems using these new methods.

What modern medicine is showing us is that conditions like OSA can be handled and controlled. Treatments are constantly being developed that allowing us to actively participate in our own health.

Let’s take the initiative to make ourselves get better!

 

 

 

References

Rosen, C.L., Auckley, D., Benca, R., Foldvary-Schaefer, N., Iber, C., Kapur, V., Rueschman, M., Zee, P., Redline, S. A multisite randomized trial of portable sleep studies and positive airway pressure autotitration versus laboratory-based polysomnography for the diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea: the homePAP study. Sleep. 2012; 35: 757-767.

Weaver, T.E., Calik, M.W., Fink, A.M., Galang-Boquiren, M.T., Kapella, M.C., Prasad, B., Carley, D.W. Nature and Science of Sleep. 2014; 6: 137-147.