The search for a treatment effective as CPAP for sleep apnea has been challenging, with many clinical trials showing drug inefficacy. Higgs Neurostimulator (HGNS) is costly and requires surgery, leading to medical uncertainty. Sleep apnea is a diverse condition influenced by various factors like obesity, now with tirzepatide approved for therapy. Ethnicity impacts risk, particularly among Asian patients. Researchers focus on conditions like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), which increases sleep apnea likelihood equivalent to a significant BMI increase due to genetic effects on connective tissue structures.
Dozens of drugs have failed to show efficacy in clinical trials, and while HGNS was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2014, its rollout has been limited, as many doctors are uncertain about the risk-to-benefit trade-off.
Sleep apnea isn't one single disease; rather, it is a diverse cluster of conditions and obesity is one of the major risk factors.
Researchers are now beginning to understand the impact of ethnicity on sleep apnea, with patients in Asia at heightened risk.
This recognition has led researchers to focus more on the EDS population, estimating that simply having EDS is equivalent to increasing one's BMI by 11 points in terms of developing sleep apnea.
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