United States: According to a recent study, a well-known obesity medication may help cure a severe condition where patients have trouble breathing at night.
Benefits and Potential Uses
Tirzepatide, the substance found in the diabetic therapy Mounjaro and the weight-loss medicine Zepbound, has been shown in obese people to improve blood pressure, weight reduction, and other health markers over the course of a year and lessen the severity of sleep apnea.
Regulatory Approval and Future Prospects
A representative for Eli Lilly andCo., the pharmaceutical company that funded the study, said on Friday that the FDA has been asked to authorize other specifics for treating moderate- to-severe sleep apnea, a condition in which cases’ breathing stops and resumes while asleep. We anticipate hearing back before the end of the time.
Caution and Additional Research Needs
However, a third-party expert issued a warning in an editorial, stating that further studies are necessary to determine if the medication can be used as “a sole treatment” for obstructive sleep apnea. This condition is caused by relaxed throat tissue that collapses during sleep, entirely or partially obstructing the airway. An estimated 20 million Americans are thought to be affected by it. Short-term problems like snoring, brain fog, and daytime tiredness might result from it, but it also severe long-term issues such as heart issues such as heart disease, dementia and early death.
Study Details and Findings
Nearly 500 patients with obesity and sleep apnea were enrolled in the study, which was presented at a medical conference and published on Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine. To keep their airways open as they slept, half of them used a CPAP machine, which delivers oxygen through a mask. People whose CPAP equipment had malfunctioned or wasn’t tolerated were in the other group.
According to the study, patients in both groups who received weekly injections of tirzepatide saw a roughly 60% reduction in the number of events per hour in which their breathing slowed or stopped altogether as they slept, as opposed to only 10% in those who received a dummy medication. Thirzepatide lowered the incidence of apnea in up to half of the patients.
Weight Loss and Sleep Apnea Management
Losing weight has advised as a strategy to lessen the seriousness of the sleep by increasing lung capacity, decreasing the fat in the airways, and boosting oxygen consumption, according to Dr. Paul Peppard, a sleep medicine researcher working at University of Wisconsin who has not involved in the study.