
Benefits of Oxytocin in Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Patients Using Continuous Positive Airway...
Sleep ApneaSleep Apnea1 moreThis study will investigate if an intra-nasal nose spray of the drug oxytocin can decrease the amount of pressure needed from the automatic Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device while sleeping decreasing some of the harmful effects of low oxygen in people with sleep apnea. This study will last 35 nights and involves spending three nights in the sleep lab at George Washington University. There are no additional costs to participants and no compensation for being involved in the study.

Technology-Supported Treatment of Sleep Apnea in Prediabetes
Sleep ApneaPreDiabetes1 moreDespite the efficacy of intensive lifestyle interventions in prediabetes, the incidence of diabetes is rising, and thus there is a critical need for additional strategies to prevent diabetes and to reduce its cardiovascular complications in this high-risk population. Sleep apnea is a highly common condition in prediabetes, but it has been mostly ignored and undertreated in current practice. The proposed study will be the first to assess whether adding CPAP (continuous positive air pressure) treatment to a lifestyle intervention improves cardiometabolic outcomes beyond that achieved with lifestyle alone (i.e. current standard of care) in high-risk individuals with prediabetes.

Impact of Positive Airway Pressure Therapy on Clinical Outcomes in Older Veterans With Chronic Obstructive...
Sleep Apnea SyndromeObstructive Sleep Apnea7 moreObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) are highly prevalent chronic respiratory diseases in the Veteran population. OSA co-occurring with COPD, known as Overlap Syndrome (OVS), is a complex chronic medical condition associated with grave consequences. OVS is highly prevalent in Veterans. Veterans with OVS may be at increased risk for cognitive deficits, poor sleep quality as well as a reduced quality of life (QoL). The overall objective is to study the effects of positive airway pressure therapy on clinical outcomes in patients with OVS.

CPAP in Treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Patients With Polycythemia Vera or Essential Thrombocythemia...
CALR Gene MutationEssential Thrombocythemia4 moreThis early phase I trial studies how well the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine works in treating obstructive sleep apnea in patients with polycythemia vera or essential thrombocythemia. Obstructive sleep apnea is a condition where a person stops breathing during sleep, and is estimated to affect 30 to 50 percent of patients with polycythemia vera or essential thrombocythemia. A patient with obstructive sleep apnea typically snores, has disrupted sleep, experiences morning headaches, and has daytime sleepiness. Patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea are typically treated with a device called CPAP. The CPAP provides pressurized air that keeps upper air passages open during sleep and may prevent them from narrowing or collapsing as occurs during snoring or sleep apnea.

The Effect of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy With Autofeedback on Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Sleep ApneaObstructiveThe overall aim of this study is to estimate the effect of orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT) plus auto-monitoring compared to auto-monitoring alone. Moreover, the investigators aim to identify anatomical and behavioural predictors of OMT adherence

Intermittent Hypoxia-initiated Plasticity in Humans: A Multi-pronged Therapeutic Approach to Treat...
Obstructive Sleep ApneaThe prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is high in the United States and is a major health concern. This disorder is linked to numerous heart, blood vessel and nervous system abnormalities, along with increased tiredness while performing exercise likely because of a reduced blood supply to skeletal muscles. The gold standard treatment of OSA with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in many cases does not lead to significant improvements in health outcomes because the recommended number of hours of treatment per night is often not achieved. Thus, development of novel treatments to eliminate apnea and lessen the occurrence of associated health conditions is important. The investigators will address this mandate by determining if repeated exposure to mild intermittent hypoxia (MIH) reduces heart and blood vessel dysfunction and tiredness/ fatigue experienced while exercise performance. The investigators propose that exposure to MIH has a multipart effect. MIH directly targets heart and blood vessel associated conditions, while simultaneously increasing upper airway stability and improving sleep quality. These modifications may serve to directly decrease breathing episodes and may also serve to improve usage of CPAP. Independent of its effect, MIH may serve as an adjunctive therapy which provides another path to reducing heart and blood vessel abnormalities that might ultimately result in improvements in exercise capacity and reverse performance fatigue in individuals with OSA.

Acetazolamide for Obstructive Sleep Apnea to Improve Heart Health
Obstructive Sleep ApneaObstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a severe type of snoring causing people to choke in their sleep. It affects millions of Americans, causing many health problems. For example, patients with OSA often feel very sleepy and are at risk of falling asleep while driving. OSA also causes elevated blood pressure increasing the risk for heart attacks and strokes. Patients with OSA are often treated with a face-mask that helps them breath at night but can be difficult to tolerate. In fact, about half the patients eventually stop using this mask. Because there are few other treatments (and no drug therapy), many OSA patients are still untreated. Of note, especially young adults (i.e. 18 to 50 years old) benefit from treating their OSA, but they are also less likely to use the mask. Acetazolamide (a mild diuretic drug) has been used for over 50 years to treat many different conditions and is well tolerated. Recent data suggest, that acetazolamide may help OSA patients to not choke in their sleep and lower their blood pressure. Especially young adults with OSA are likely to respond well to this drug. Further, its low cost (66¢/day) and once- daily dosing may be particularly attractive for young OSA patients unable or unwilling to wear a mask each night. But previous studies had many limitations and did not focus on young adults. The goal of this study is to test if acetazolamide can improve sleep apnea and cardiovascular health in young adults with OSA (18-50 years old), and how it does that. Thus, we will treat 46 young OSA patients with acetazolamide or placebo for 2 weeks each. The order in which participants receive the drug or placebo will be randomized. At the end of each 2 week period we will assess OSA severity and cardiovascular health. Thus, this study will help assess acetazolamide's potential value for OSA treatment, and may also help to identify patients who are most likely to respond to acetazolamide (including select individuals >50 years of age). Ultimately, this work promises a drug therapy option for millions of OSA patients who are unable to tolerate current treatments.

Identifying Sleep Apnea Patients That Best Respond to Atomoxetine Plus Oxybutynin Therapy
Obstructive Sleep ApneaAtomoxetine-plus-oxybutynin therapy (AtoOxy) has been shown to substantially reduce obstructive sleep apnea severity (OSA) in about half of patients. Here, the investigators will study which patients respond meaningfully to therapy using pathophysiological traits measured at baseline sleep studies.

Effect of Eszopiclone on Adherence to CPAP and Severity of Insomnia in Patients With COMISA
Obstructive Sleep ApneaInsomniaThe comorbidity between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and insomnia (COMISA) is common, and associated with poorer sleep quality. CPAP adherence among COMISA patients is worst than among those with OSA only. The investigators will compare the effect of Eszopiclone 3mg or placebo for 14 days on adherence to CPAP after 30 days and after 6 months.

Novel Inhibitors of Lipolysis in the Treatment of Lipid a Glucose Metabolism in Obstructive Sleep...
Obstructive Sleep ApneaObesityObstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) represents highly prevalent (typically overlooked, undiagnosed and untreated) disorder significantly increasing cardiovascular, cancer and overall mortality as well as increasing the risk of Type 2 diabetes and liver steatohepatitis. Unfortunately, adherence to state-of-the-art therapy with continuous positive airway pressure devices (CPAP) is poorly tolerated by patients, rendering a significant proportion (~60-70 %) of them at undiminished cardiovascular and metabolic risk warranting development of innovative, pharmacological, treatment options. The overarching theme of this project is that metabolic impairments associated with OSA (e.g. Type 2 diabetes mellitus and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) are causally mediated by elevated levels of circulating free fatty acids (FFA) originating from hypoxia-induced adipose tissue lipolysis. Increased plasma FFA subsequently induce insulin resistance, β-cell dysfunction, increase hepatic glucose output and stimulate lipid storage in liver. The investigators recently proved that hypoxia represents a powerful stimulus for adipocyte lipolysis and that experimental pharmacological inhibition of lipolysis prevented development of Type 2 diabetes in a mouse model of OSA. The goal of the project is to understand adipose tissue lipolysis derangements in OSA subjects and to evaluate the feasibility of lifestyle intervention as a mean to reduce spontaneous lipolysis.