Unusual Remedy Helps Sleep Apnea; Ingredient Found In Poisonous Bean Cuts Breathing Pauses

Sleep apnea sufferers may benefit from the main ingredient in a poisonous African bean. The drug is called physostigmine. It’s the main ingredient of the deadly Calabar bean, once used in Africa in trial-by-ordeal rituals. Physostigmine is used as an antidote for organophosphate poisoning and also to treat certain types of glaucoma. Now it may help treat people with obstructive sleep apnea.

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