NEW ATLAS – A common childhood epilepsy drug has the potential to change the lives of millions of people who suffer from sleep apnea, as a human trial has delivered surprising results in reducing symptoms and improving daytime alertness.
Sulthiame, known as Ospolot, is a medication most commonly prescribed to control the symptoms of childhood epilepsy.
But in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial involving 298 people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), it had surprisingly good results in helping those who were unable to tolerate CPAP machines or other mouthpieces.
“The standard treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is sleeping with a machine that blows air through a face mask to keep the airways open,” said Jan Hedner, a professor at Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
“Unfortunately, many people find these machines hard to use over the long term, so there is a need to find alternative treatments. We also a need better understanding of the underlying mechanisms in OSA to help clinicians give more personalized treatment.”
In the trial, patients being treated at 28 medical centers in Spain, France, Belgium, Germany and the Czech Republic were split into four groups, with 74 people taking 100 mg of sulthiame each day, 74 taking 200 mg, 75 taking 300 mg and 75 taking a placebo.
All participants were assessed with polysomnography at the initial stage, then at four weeks and finally at 12 weeks. Polysomnography was used to measure breathing, oxygen levels in the blood, heart rhythm, eye movements, and brain and muscle activity during sleep.
The researchers found that those taking sulthiame had fewer breathing interruptions and higher oxygen levels in their blood. They also reported less lethargy during the day.
While a childhood epilepsy drug might seem like a strange match for OSA, sulthiame actually targets the respiratory system and stimulates the muscles in the upper airway.
Using the apnea-hypopnea index of AHI3a, which assesses breathing interruptions during sleep, the researchers found that patients on the highest dose of sulthiame had 39.9% lower frequency of respiratory pauses during the night.
The cohort on the medium dose scored 34.8% lower, while the low-dose group scored 17.8% lower.
