Jab for weak muscles may silence snores, too

AN INjECTION that is commonly used to stop muscle weakness could put an end to snoring. The jab contains a drug that causes muscles to contract. The theory is that injecting it into the roof of the mouth just above the throat will tighten the tissues in the throat that collapse, causing snoring as air squeezes through the obstructed airway.

In a new trial in the U.S., snorers are being given five jabs of the drug. The researchers say it could also be made into a gel that’s directly applied to the roof of the mouth before bed.

The treatment is being tested in people with sleep apnoea, a condition that affects one in five adults in Britain. It occurs when throat tissue collapses repeatedly during sleep, blocking the airway for up to ten seconds at a time.

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means that patients temporarily stop breathing — a drop in blood oxygen levels then triggers signals to the brain, which instruct muscles in the throat to contract in order to reopen the airways.

Left untreated, sleep apnoea can lead to long-term problems, such as heart disease. The standard treatment is with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices — masks worn by patients while they sleep. These deliver pressurised air to keep the airway open. Though effective, up to half of users find the masks cumbersome and stop using them.

The injections, being trialled at Emory University in the U.S., contain a drug called neostigmine methylsulphate. This is currently used for myasthenia gravis, a rare, long-term condition where the immune system mistakenly damages the signals between nerves and muscles, leading to muscle weakness.

The drug works by boosting levels of a brain chemical called acetylcholine, which, in turn, increases the nerve signals to the muscles telling them to contract.

In myasthenia gravis, this reduces such symptoms as droopy eyelids, difficulty swallowing and weak arms and legs.

In sleep apnoea, the theory is that this will make muscles around the throat contract which will pull back the tissues so they don’t obstruct the airways, causing snoring.

In the new trial, 20 snorers will be monitored in a laboratory during induced sleep — when they snore, they will be given the jabs.

The number and volume of the snoring sounds will be monitored immediately after and then again 30 days later using an endoscopy (where a camera on a long, thin tube is inserted through the mouth to examine the throat tissue) and with sound and video recordings while they are asleep.

If successful, the researchers say they plan to make a rub-on version of the drug, so that patients can apply it before bedtime.

Commenting on the treatment, Professor jaydip Ray, an ear, nose and throat (ENT) consultant at Sheffield Teaching Hospital, says: ‘Most snoring treatments are invasive, painful or cumbersome. Hence uptake and compliance are low.

‘This simple, non-invasive option, if successful, offers tremendous hope to these patients whose lives are blighted with this problem.’

MEANWHILE, a vibrating device worn on the arm may also tackle snoring and sleep apnoea.

The device has a sensor that detects snoring sounds — it then vibrates in three- second bursts to rouse the sleeper enough to stop snoring.

In a recent study at Ataturk University in Turkey, reported in the journal Sensors, when patients used the device — known as Snorap — they snored less often and less noisily.