Sulthiame safe to use for moderate to severe Obstructive sleep apnea

New research found that Sulthiame is safe and demonstrated a good safety profile in moderate and/or severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by reducing the more than 20 events/h of OSA on average. The trial results were published in the journal American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by frequent episodes of airway collapse, deranged blood gases, autonomic activation, and sleep fragmentation. Multiple therapies have been developed for OSA but there is not much data on efficacy, compliance, or tolerability. In the recent past individualized therapies, which identify the phenotypic variants have also been developed for OSA. One such management method is the pharmacological inhibition of the carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme. Sulthiame which is a CA inhibitor commonly used for epilepsy has been found to cause respiratory stimulation due to CA inhibition. Hence, researchers from Sweden and Germany conducted a study to explore the safety and tolerability of the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor sulthiame (STM) in OSA. 

Between February 2018 and December 2019, the 4-week double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled dose-guiding trial was conducted in patients with moderate and/or severe OSA not tolerating positive airway pressure treatment. The primary outcome of measurement was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of 4 weeks of treatment with STM in patients with moderate to intermittent OSA. Measures of sleep apnea intensity, oxygenation, sleep quality, and patient-related outcomes constituted secondary outcomes.