More Treatment Options Becoming Available for Sleep Apnea

Continuous Airway Pressure Therapy (CPAP) may be the most often prescribed treatment for sleep apnea, but it isn’t the only successful treatment. There are other options, such as surgery, dental devices and behavior modification. Millions of people across the world currently suffer from sleep apnea, where they actually stop breathing for short periods of time, several times during a nights sleep. While CPAP is a very successful treatment option there are many sufferers who can’t tolerate this treatment option.

Sleep apnea affects around 12 million Americans. It can be a very serious condition if left untreated. Sleep apnea occurs when the soft tissue in the throat collapses and blocks the airway causing a person to stop breathing. Most sufferers actually stop breathing several times a night, for up to 30 seconds at a time, many times waking up and gasping for air. According to the National Heart and Blood Institute, if sleep apnea is untreated it could cause high blood pressure, heart attacks, and stroke. The condition could also interrupt daily routines because of lack of sleep.

CPAP is the most common remedy for sleep apnea, where a mask is placed over the face and a person breathes through a tube that pushes air at a constant pressure, preventing patients from stopping breathing from their airway being restricted, allowing them a more peaceful night’s rest. However, because of the cumbersomeness of the apparatus, or the way the air flows while a patient breathes, some people find it isn’t a good option for them. Researchers have recently released data proving other effective options to treat sleep apnea.

Two studies were published in the May issue of Archives of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery which demonstrate two alternatives for treating sleep apnea. Transpalatal advancement pharyngoplasty (TAP) may be an affective option for some sufferers. It is a surgery that enlarges the space in the back of the throat behind the roof of the mouth to help prevent the breathing passage from being blocked during sleep. Dr. Neville Patrick Swine with St. Johns Hospital and the lead author of the study that tested the surgical treatment said, “Whilst continuous positive airway pressure is the gold standard treatment, it does not adequately serve all patients, with some that fail to tolerate treatment and others that simply refuse treatment.” Dr. Shine and his colleagues investigated 60 patients’ medical records that had undergone surgery to help with sleep apnea. Their mean age was 47.5 and 92 percent were male. The researchers deemed 38 of the surgeries as successful, based on their criteria of reduced sleep disturbances and increased oxygen in their blood, and in 21 patients sleep apnea was actually cured. According to Dr. Shine, the success rate was 63 percent.

Researchers from Korea also investigated the success of a product known as MAD, mandibular advancement device, as another major alternative to CPAP for treating sleep apnea. The device works by pushing the lower jaw forward and preventing the airway from being blocked. The device has been studied prior to the newly released study, but predominantly in the Western part of the world. For this study, researchers based their research on Asian patients who seem to actually suffer more severely from sleep apnea than Caucasians. Researchers found, based on their criteria, that MAD had a success rate of 74 percent and the rates were actually best in those with more severe sleep apnea. The researchers described the device a “simple, non-invasive, easy-to-manufacture, and easy-to-use.”

Sleep apnea affects millions and can be easily diagnosed and treated. Doctors recommend trying CPAP as the first line of defense against sleep apnea, but if that doesn’t work or isn’t tolerable then there are other successful options. Sleep apnea can be dangerous and patients should consider some form of treatment.