Obstructive Sleep Apnea News and Research

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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a major heath problem. In the United States, at least 17 million people have moderate to severe OSA, which is characterized by heavy snoring, airway blockage and frequent awakenings during sleep.

VIVUS receives FDA CRL for QNEXA NDA

VIVUS, Inc. announced today that it received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding its New Drug Application (NDA) for the investigational new drug QNEXA® (phentermine/topiramate) Controlled-Release Capsules. The FDA issued the CRL to communicate its decision that the NDA cannot be approved in its present form.

29 Oct 2010

FDA approves REMS for NUVIGIL and PROVIGIL tablets

Cephalon, Inc. today announced that Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) for its medications NUVIGIL (armodafinil) Tablets [C-IV] and PROVIGIL (modafinil) Tablets [C-IV] have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

25 Oct 2010

Snoring may destroy grey matter

A new Australian study has found that snoring and troubled nights could be a warning of brain damage occurring while sleeping. The team looked at brain scans of 60 people, aged in their mid-40s and recently diagnosed with a common sleep disorder – obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea often affects overweight and the obese and leads to snoring. Results showed “decreased amount of grey matter” when compared to healthy sleepers.

21 Oct 2010

STOP-BANG questionnaire on sleep apnea syndrome helps identify patients' risk for surgical complication

A research team from the Jefferson Sleep Disorders Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has utilized a simple, eight-item pre-operative questionnaire about obstructive sleep apnea syndrome that could help identify patients at risk for complications following surgery, according to a report in the October issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Individuals prone to the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome as determined by the questionnaire appear to have an increased risk of heart, lung and other complications following elective surgery.

19 Oct 2010

Study reinforces need for physicians to screen obstructive sleep apnea prior to surgery

As Americans get heavier and heavier, the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea increases, and results from two clinical studies presented at ANESTHESIOLOGY 2010 reinforce the need for physicians to screen for the disorder prior to surgery in order to appropriately manage the patient in the operating room.

18 Oct 2010

ESH and ERS consent document to manage hypertension and OSA

Consensus document on the management of patients with obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension. Joint recommendations by The European COST Action B26, The European Society of Hypertension and The European Respiratory Society.

7 Oct 2010

Nasal CPAP machine may cause craniofacial changes

The use of a nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) machine for more than 2 years may cause craniofacial changes in adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

5 Oct 2010

VIVUS announces divestiture of MUSE to Meda

VIVUS, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Meda - an international specialty pharma company - for MUSE®, transurethral alprostadil, for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). Under the agreement, Meda will acquire the MUSE assets including the United States and foreign MUSE patents, existing inventory and the manufacturing facility located in Lakewood, New Jersey.

4 Oct 2010

Study examines link between insufficient sleep and blood pressure among pregnant women

A study in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Sleep found that getting too little or too much sleep in early pregnancy is associated with elevated blood pressure in the third trimester. The study suggests that improving prenatal sleep hygiene may provide important health benefits.

1 Oct 2010

Adequate sleep is the secret to a long life

A new study, derived from novel sleep research conducted by University of California, San Diego researchers 14 years earlier, suggests that the secret to a long life may come with just enough sleep. Less than five hours a night is probably not enough; eight hours is probably too much.

1 Oct 2010

Rotech Healthcare prices $230 million Senior Secured Notes offering

Rotech Healthcare Inc. announced today the pricing of its offering of $230 million in aggregate principal amount of Senior Secured Notes due 2015. The notes will be sold to investors at a price of 97.189% of the principal amount thereof and will bear a coupon rate equal to 10 ¾ % per annum. The offering is expected to close on October 6, 2010.

30 Sep 2010

Rotech Healthcare offers $225 million in Senior Secured Notes due 2015

Rotech Healthcare Inc. announced today that the company intends to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $225 million in aggregate principal amount of Senior Secured Notes due 2015.

27 Sep 2010

UC San Diego receives grant to study hypoxia susceptibility

Gabriel G. Haddad, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego has received a $10 million grant from the National Institute of Health's Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

24 Sep 2010

ImThera Medical releases interim results of clinical study on neurostimulation device for treating OSA

ImThera Medical, Inc. today announced interim results from its OSA European clinical study. For the study, ten patients have been surgically implanted with ImThera's aura6000 hypoglossal nerve neurostimulation device for treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea. The target population for ImThera's neurostimulation device is moderate and severe OSA patients who are non-compliant with or cannot tolerate Continuous Positive Airway Pressure.

22 Sep 2010

VIVUS announces QNEXA study results for obesity treatment

VIVUS, Inc. today announced positive top-line results from a two-year study of QNEXA(phentermine/topiramate) Controlled Release Capsules, an investigational therapy for treatment of obesity, a condition that affects approximately one-third of adult Americans.

21 Sep 2010

Chronic insomnia with objectively measured short sleep duration associated with increased mortality in men

A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal SLEEP found an elevated risk of death in men with a complaint of chronic insomnia and an objectively measured short sleep duration. The results suggest that public health policy should emphasize the diagnosis and appropriate treatment of chronic insomnia.

2 Sep 2010

Researchers recommend traumatic brain injury reclassification for additional funding

Traumatic brain injury, currently considered a singular event by the insurance industry and many health care providers, is instead the beginning of an ongoing process that impacts multiple organ systems and may cause or accelerate other diseases and disorders that can reduce life expectancy, according to research from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

27 Aug 2010