Testing for a new sleep apnea drug has proven exceptionally successful. Not only has the drug allowed some patients to abandon their CPAP machines entirely, but it has also helped boost weight loss and heart health, the results show. The drug has been so effective in its first trials that it could become the first therapeutic to actually treat sleep apnea, a condition that affects more than 936 million people worldwide.
After 52 weeks, the patient on tirzepatide experienced fewer than 25.3 events per hour. In the second trial, the initial reported average of 49.5 events more than halved to an average of 29.3 or fewer events per hour. These results are absolutely inspiring for the millions suffering from OSA, and having a proper therapeutic sleep apnea drug could offer a lot of respite from the bulky and noisy CPAP machines that many patients have had to rely on for years at this point.