Trial tests snore cure

MEDICINES commonly used to treat heart rhythm problems may treat snoring, too.

About 60 patients with sleep apnoea – where the throat closes, preventing normal breathing during sleep – will take part in a trial in UK hospitals in which they will be given a potassium channel blocker or placebo.

Potassium is needed for muscle contractions and the theory is that the drugs that block its effect on the muscles in the airways will help keep them open during sleep.