Check the obstructive sleep apnea with a pill: a dream for those who suffer from it

A pill that acts on the muscles that keep the upper airways open could free the people who suffer from night masks Obstructive sleep apnea: In a phase III clinical test, the medicine has more than halved the frequency of the interruptions of the breath in patients, and made less severe the events of poor oxygenation typical of the disease. Of the pill against apnea, which approaches the request for approval from the American FDA, deals with an article on the website of Science.

Obstructive sleep apnea, or apneas of the obstructive sleep apneas (Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome – Osas), is a disease characterized by frequent interruptions of night breathingdue to the total or partial obstruction of the upper airways. The pathology, more widespread in men, occurs in different ways. There may be a real apnea, that is, an interruption of the breath ranging from 10 seconds less than 3 minutes; A partial reduction of the breath, or a progressive increase in the effort necessary to breathe followed by a quick release.

Obstructive sleep apnea involves symptoms such as snoring, sudden night awakenings with feeling of suffocation, excessive tiredness and daytime restlessness, driving sleep, headache on awakening, impotence. Overweight or obesity people are more at risk of obstructive sleep apnea, as well as those with obstructions already present at the level of the nose, mouth or throat, or with a short neck and torto. It is estimated that in the world, They suffer from apnea obstructive sleep about a billion people.

At the base of the night apnea there is repetitive collapse of the upper airways During sleep, when the muscles of the throat relax, narrowing the respiratory tract and blocking the passage of the air through the throat. Crucial is the role of genioglossusa muscle in charge of lowering the tongue and making it protruded forward, thus keeping the throat open.

Sleep apnea can cause important daily difficulties at workfor the difficulty in concentrating; drivingfor ease of sleep strokes; and can cause sexual dysfunctions. It is often associated with hypertension (high blood pressure). And, in the long run, the not sufficient oxygenation in sleep hours promotes cardiovascular problems (heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke) and metabolic (diabetes).

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea benefit both from the control of risk factors (in addition to obesity, alcohol consumption and the use of sedatives), and from the therapy with continuous positive pressure ventilation of the airways.

This treatment provides the use of a CPAP mask (Continuous Positive Air Way Pressure) that strength the passage of air in the upper respiratory tract in sleep and facilitates oxygenation. CPAP therapy is extremely effective, but some patients they do not adhere willinglyfor claustrophobia problems or for the reluctance to be seen masked by the partner with whom they divide night rest.

The pill against apneas is made up of two combined medicines: theatomoxetinealready used in the treatment of attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity (ADHD), increases the available levels of neurotransmitter norepinefrine In the brain by blocking its re -pressing (reabsorption) by neural synapses. In patients with an obstructive sleep apnea, the decline of norepinephrine contributes to the loss of tone of the muscles of the airways and in particular of the genioglossi.

The other compound, thearossibutinineis a modified form of a drug used to treat bladder instability and urinary uncontaining. Prevents neurotransmitter acetylcholine to inhibit the nerve that activates the genioglossi, thus increasing the tone of the muscle during sleep.

The two medicines were reformulated in a single product called AD109, marketed by the US pharmaceutical company Apnimed. After some promising results in a preliminary study, in 2023 the pill was tested in a randomized clinical trial out of 646 patientswho received the drug or placebo every night for 6 months. Those who had been actually treated had a decrease of 56% of the apneas or the reductions in breathing, and a “significant” drop in gravity and duration of the episodes of poor oxygenation, dangerous for cardiovascular health.

22% of patients reached complete control of the disease (less than 5 obstructive episodes per hour). The partial results have been reported for now in a press release. After the conclusion in the summer of another phase 3 trial, lasting 12 months, they will be presented in official form during a scientific conference set for next autumn.

Waiting for the discovery to be confirmed in a real scientific article, it remains to be understood if the drug is also effective against the debilitating symptoms of the apnea, including daytime ones. Not entirely clear is then If the medicine guarantees a reduction in long -term side effectsnor if it gives complications – for example due to the stimulating effect of its active ingredients. Questions to which will be answered, before submission of the application for approval to the FDA, in 2026.