The effects of zolpidem in obstructive sleep apnea - An open-label pilot study.

The effects of zolpidem in obstructive sleep apnea - An open-label pilot study. J Sleep Res. 2019 Apr 10;:e12853 Authors: Carberry JC, Grunstein RR, Eckert DJ Abstract New knowledge on hypnotics and their effects on the phenotypic causes of obstructive sleep apnea indicate that zolpidem has therapeutic potential for certain patients. Specifically, zolpidem increases the threshold for arousal threshold and pharyngeal dilator muscle responsiveness. However, the effects of a standard dose of zolpidem (10 mg) on obstructive sleep apnea severity and symptoms have not been investigated. In an open-label pilot study, 12 unselected people with obstructive sleep apnea were recruited following a diagnostic in-laboratory sleep study. Participants then returned for a single-night sleep study in which 10 mg of zolpidem was given just prior to sleep. Tolerability, next-day sleepiness and the effects of zolpidem on polysomnography variables were assessed. Zolpidem was well tolerated and significantly improved the sleep efficiency compared with the no-drug night (77 ± 12% versus 84 ± 9%, p = 0.005). Individual responses on obstructive sleep apnea severity to zolpidem in this unselected obstructive sleep apnea patient population were variable with no overall systematic difference in apnea-hypopnea index (29 ± 18.2 events per hr versus 33 ± 28 events per hr, p = 0.45) or other key respiratory parameters (e.g. event ...
Source: Journal of Sleep Research - Category: Sleep Medicine Authors: Tags: J Sleep Res Source Type: research