Nose spray reduces childhood apnea-linked inflammation

Early research shows certain steroid nasal sprays may help to reduce the inflammatory cell proteins in children that are linked to sleep apnea. A study included in the June of Archives of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery looked at how children who were due to have their adenoids and tonsils removed reacted to the drug fluticasone furoate.

The study involved 24 children from the ages of 2 to 12 years old, with sleep apnea. The children were divided into two groups. About half of the children received doses of the nasal spray once a day for two weeks prior to surgery. The control group did not use the nasal spray.

After children in both groups had their adenoids and tonsils surgically removed, the researchers examined the adenoids. While all of the adenoids weighed about the same, the treatment group had lower levels of the inflammatory cell protein IL-6. The cell protein has been linked to the development of sleep apnea.

In the study’s conclusion, the authors stated that steroid nasal spray could potentially be part of future pediatric sleep apnea treatments. The findings support previous research that found nasal fluticasone reduced the frequency of breathing pauses in children with obstructive sleep apnea in children.

The research is still in its early phases and parents should be aware that steroid nasal sprays are not a recognized obstructive sleep apnea treatment for children. The standard treatments include surgery, CPAP and weight loss. Some children with sleep apnea may benefit from wearing an oral appliance during sleep.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports that about two percent of healthy young children have sleep apnea. The sleep disorder occurs when soft tissue in the back of throat collapses and blocks the airway during sleep.

Most children with sleep apnea have a history of loud snoring. This may include obvious pauses in breathing and gasps for breath. Parents often notice that the child seems to be working hard to breathe during sleep.

Read more about obstructive sleep apnea in children. Get help at an AASM-accredited sleep center near you.

Photo by: olaerik

Drug combination could solve snoring, sleep apnea

Two pills might be all it takes to treat some cases of sleep apnea. A promising new study found the combination of pseudoephedrine and domperidone dramatically cut down on the loud snoring typically associated with the disorder.

Researchers tested the treatment on 23 patients who reported severe snoring and episodes of sleep apnea.

Both drugs are widely used to treat symptoms researchers assumed might contribute to sleep apnea. Domperidone, or Motilium, is used to treat acid reflux by helping clear the stomach of acids and other juices. Pseudoephedrine is an ingredient in cold medicines that reduces nasal congestion.

Researchers believed the combination would reduce inflammation in patients’ throats and stop nasal congestion from causing a vacuum effect that causes the tongue to obstruct breathing.

Participants completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and received a home oxygen monitoring test before and after receiving the therapy. All but one of the patients’ scores significantly dropped, meaning there was a measurable improvement in their sleep quality. The average decrease was 9.9 points. 17 subjects reported they no longer snored or had episodes of sleep apnea after taking the medication.

The findings are promising but further research is needed before the treatment becomes available. None of the patients received a clinical sleep study. The study instead relied on sleep questionnaires and oxygen testing. Researchers promise to follow up on the study in the future.

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that causes your body to stop breathing during sleep. It happens when the tissue in the back of the throat collapses and blocks the airway, keeping air from getting into the lungs. Currently, there are no drugs treatments for sleep apnea.

Read the entire study in the most recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

Why Do We Sleep?

An article from the University of Wisconsin takes a closer look at one of the research teams that just published a new study on sleep and memory.

It explains how their research is taking the study of sleep and memory in new directions. It also examines the question that lies at the foundation of their research: Why?

Why do we sleep? It’s a simple question. And progress is being made to answer it. But definitive answers remain elusive.

“Why is it that the brain cells need to sleep?” researcher Chiara Cirelli said in the article. “That’s really what we are trying to understand.”

Cirelli and colleague Giulio Tononi probed this question last fall in the essay “Is sleep essential?” They conclude that there is still no consensus for “the elusive phoenix of sleep.”

Emmanuel Mignot explored this “unsolved mystery” last year in “Why we sleep: the temporal organization of recovery.” He concludes that it is still unclear why sleep is required. But “recent work suggests multiple roles.”

And Jerome Siegel addressed the topic in the 2003 article “Why we sleep.” He writes that “we have no comparably straightforward explanation for sleep.” But sleep research has led to numerous “reasonable proposals.”

A group from Spain offered a more controversial perspective in the 2007 article “The trivial function of sleep.” They argue that “sleep does not provide additional advantages over simple rest.”

So why do we sleep? Researchers are exploring complex answers to this simple question. And the debate is sure to continue.