As someone who’s spent the past decade using a CPAP machine to fend off the sleep apnea that makes me sound like a dying hog as I rest at night, I can tell you that it is an obnoxious little device. Sleeping with a hose attached to your face, connected to a small mechanical brick humming beside your bed, is not as pleasant as it sounds. And yet I do it, so I don’t wake up my wife in the middle of the night with my aforementioned hog screams. That’s why I’m pinning all my snore-filled hopes on a study recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine that says we might be one big step closer to a sleep apnea pill.
As reported by Science Alert, the experimental drug is called AD109, and researchers say it could become the first major pharmaceutical treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder affecting nearly a billion people worldwide, but most importantly, me.
For those unaware, sleep apnea is when the muscles in your upper airway collapse in on themselves when you’re asleep, cutting off your breathing, your body essentially choking on itself. The episodes are usually pretty quick, but are often noted with a horrifying snore that could wake the dead, or just your light-sleeper partner.
If you routinely wake up feeling exhausted even after a long night of sleep, wake up with a headache, or wake up with a foggy brain, there is a chance that you might have sleep apnea. If you suspect you might, it’s probably best to go get yourself a sleep test. If you go on like this, you’ll just increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.
A Pill-Based Treatment for Sleep Apnea Sounds Like a Dream
CPAP machines are one of the few weapons you can use to fight back, though if your particular case of apnea is weight-induced, losing weight via dieting or GLP-1 type medication could be your fix. But generally, CPAP machines are the go-to treatment, and a lot of people absolutely hate using them. Tons of people who have been diagnosed with sleep apnea and have spent the pretty penny required to attain a CPAP machine end up hardly ever using them.
A pill-based treatment for sleep apnea might be exactly what a lot of those people have been looking for.
The phase 3 clinical trial enrolled 646 people across the U.S. and Canada who either couldn’t tolerate CPAP therapy or outright refused it. Participants taking AD109 saw their sleep apnea severity drop by roughly 44 percent over 26 weeks. Nearly 18 percent of patients stopped experiencing sleep apnea altogether by the end of the trial.
The drug combines an ingredient commonly used to treat ADHD with another ingredient that affects nervous system activity. Together, they combined to prevent airway muscles from relaxing during sleep, thus stopping your terrifying sleep chokes. There are side effects, like dry mouth and insomnia, but they were relatively mild. The FDA has fast-tracked the drug for review, with a decision expected sometime in 2027.
The post Snorers Rejoice! There May Soon Be a Sleep Apnea Remedy That Doesn’t Involve Strapping a CPAP to Your Face appeared first on VICE.
