Experimental Treatment For Sleep Apnea Disappoints

What seemed like a promising treatment for sleep apnea -- using an implanted device to make the heart beat faster -- doesn't appear to be working out, a new study found. Two years ago, French physicians said the method, called atrial overdrive pacing (AOP), had produced significant improvement in some people with sleep apnea. Sleep apnea involves frequent stoppages of breathing that not only disturbs sleep but also increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and death. But now Greek physicians report that their trial with 16 sleep apnea patients found the intervention "has no significant effect." They published their findings in the Dec. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine -- the same journal that carried the initial report of AOP's success. A similar finding will be forthcoming from physicians at Baylor College of Medicine, who last year reported some initial success in the use of AOP for sleep apnea. "Our initial report was on 13 patients, two of whom had a significant response," said Dr. Hossein Sharafkhaneh, assistant professor of medicine at Baylor. "Subsequent to that, we enrolled more patients and they did not respond. The effect of AOP was not significant enough for it to be considered a treatment option." A report on the trial is being prepared for submission to a medical journal, he said.