Technologies

UIC researchers have found that interfering with apnaegenic sensory inputs using antagonists of prostanoids improve central and obstructive sleep-breathing disorders. Antagonists of prostanoids interfere by endogenous prostanoids. Using antagonists of prostanoids along with conventional pharmaceuticals is also an effective treatment method.

• Sleep apnea is a potentially life-threatening disorder characterized by temporary breathing interruptions during sleep. Sleep apnea is usually accompanied by snoring and results in daytime fatigue and other disabling characteristics.
• According to the National Institute of Health, more than 15 million Americans are affected with sleep apnea including 25% of middle-aged men and 10% of middle-aged women. This serious problem is currently treated with mechanical forms of therapy that deliver positive airway pressure (PAP), surgical procedures, and pharmacological treatments that are not generally sufficient.
• Recognizing the need for a novel treatment of sleep apnea, the inventors at UIC have developed a specific method for the prevention or amelioration of sleep-breathing disorders.
• Through an effective amount of antagonists of prostanoids that interfere with the activity of endogenous prostanoids or a combination of prostanoid antagonists and other tested pharmacological agents, this technology has been able to improve both central and obstructive sleep-related breathing disorders.
• By interfering with apneagenic sensory inputs to the brainstem, the present invention will have applications to a variety of sleep-related breathing disorders including: sleep apnea syndrome, upper airway resistance syndrome, apnea of prematurity, Cheyne-Stokes respiration, obesity hypoventilation syndrome, congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, and snoring.