Sleep Apnea

The story of OSCAR — the free, open-source software that lets sleep apnea patients see the detailed CPAP data their manufacturers' apps hide — begins with an Australian developer who just wanted to read his own numbers.

A 10-year study tracking 777 older adults with obstructive sleep apnea found that those who used CPAP showed significantly slower cognitive decline than those who did not — suggesting the breathing device may protect brain function during aging.

A $14 million federally funded clinical trial will compare CPAP, mandibular advancement devices, and a pharmacological combination head-to-head in 2,400 patients — the largest comparative effectiveness study ever conducted for obstructive sleep apnea.

A large prospective study published in Chest finds that each interquartile-range increase in PM2.5 exposure raises sleep apnea risk by 16%, with carriers of the FTO obesity gene variant facing disproportionately higher vulnerability — adding air quality to the growing list of modifiable sleep apnea risk factors.

A 2026 meta-analysis in Sleep and Breathing pooled data from four randomized trials and found that GLP-1 receptor agonists reduce the apnea-hypopnea index by nearly 14 events per hour on average — with tirzepatide alone cutting it by 24.

A study presented at ASM Microbe 2026 found that eliminating a single bile acid receptor in mice abolished the arterial plaque buildup caused by sleep apnea-like conditions — revealing a gut-driven mechanism that could eventually lead to targeted therapies for the millions of patients at cardiovascular risk.

A study of more than 132,000 sleep apnea patients found that 51% did not meet Medicare adherence criteria within 90 days, but more than a third of those patients were still using CPAP a year later — raising questions about insurance policies that cut off coverage based on early struggles.

A study of 1,206 adults using full overnight polysomnography found that both current smokers and former smokers had approximately 75% greater odds of more severe obstructive sleep apnea compared to people who never smoked — suggesting that airway changes from smoking persist years after quitting.

A meta-analysis of more than 13,000 adults found that people with obstructive sleep apnea are 85% more likely to develop sarcopenia — and CT imaging studies show their muscles may be infiltrated with fat even when they appear normal in size.

Apnimed has secured $300 million through two financing deals as it prepares to submit a new drug application to the FDA for AD109, a once-nightly pill that reduced breathing interruptions by up to 56% in clinical trials.

A study of 3,159 people monitored over multiple nights found that high night-to-night variability in sleep apnea severity independently increased the odds of major cardiovascular events by 34% — suggesting that standard one-night sleep tests may underestimate risk for a hidden group of patients.

The FDA granted premarket approval to LivaNova's aura6000, the first hypoglossal nerve stimulation device for sleep apnea that does not exclude patients with complete concentric collapse of the airway.

A Vanderbilt and Harvard study found that up to 69% of former NFL players may have sleep apnea — most of it undiagnosed — and that untreated cases are strongly linked to the cognitive and psychiatric symptoms often attributed to concussion-related brain damage.

A study of nearly 2.9 million people in the UK found that those with obstructive sleep apnea had a 71% higher risk of cardiovascular events or death compared to matched controls — and elevated rates of obesity, diabetes, and mental health conditions.

A Mount Sinai study published in Nature Communications Medicine introduces a machine learning model that can predict whether CPAP therapy will reduce or increase cardiovascular risk for individual sleep apnea patients — a first step toward personalized treatment decisions.

A review in Respirology finds that four distinct biological mechanisms drive obstructive sleep apnea in different patients, and that matching treatments to each mechanism could transform care — especially for the millions who abandon CPAP.

A Yale study of nearly 1 million U.S. veterans found that people with both insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea face nearly four times the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those without either condition.

A large European clinical trial found that sulthiame, an existing epilepsy medication, reduced breathing interruptions during sleep by up to 47% in patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, raising hopes for a pharmaceutical alternative to CPAP therapy.

Pharmaceutical company Apnimed plans to file for FDA approval of AD109 in early 2026 after the drug met its primary endpoint in a second Phase 3 trial, potentially offering relief to patients who struggle with CPAP therapy.

UC Davis Medical Center became the first hospital in Northern California to implant the Genio system, an FDA-approved device that stimulates nerves to keep airways open during sleep without requiring an internal battery.

SleepRes received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Kricket PAP device, which uses adaptive pressure technology to synchronize with natural breathing patterns and potentially improve patient comfort.