Would You Take a Pill for Sleep Apnea? This Clinical Trial Showed Promise

(HealthDay News) — A European epilepsy drug could be an effective treatment for sleep apnea, a new study suggests. Patients who took the sulthiame pill had few pauses in their breathing while asleep, as well as higher levels of blood oxygen, according to clinical trial results presented Tuesday at the European Respiratory Society annual meeting in Vienna. “This suggests that sulthiame could be an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, especially for those who find they cannot use the existing mechanical treatments” like a CPAP machine, said researcher Jan Hedner from Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Sulthiame has never been approved for use in the United States, but it is used in Europe to treat epilepsy. It appears to quell seizures by increasing blood levels of an established anticonvulsant called phenytoin. The drug also targets the respiratory system by inhibiting an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase, which stimulates upper airway muscles, researchers explained. How did the clinical trial work? For the study, researchers recruited nearly 300 people being treated for sleep apnea at hospitals in Spain, France, Belgium, Germany and the Czech Republic. None of the patients were using CPAP machines or mouthpieces to keep their...