New Hope for Snorers: Weight Loss Injection Shows Effect

The so-called weight loss injections help indirectly and possibly also directly against health-damaging snoring. This was one of the topics at the start of the three-day annual meeting of the Society for Pneumology (ÖGP) in Linz on Thursday. Around 700,000 people in Austria suffer from breathing interruptions during sleep, known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The main causes are overweight and a relaxation of the tongue and throat muscles, it was stated in a press release.

Weight Reduction Relieves the Airways

This severely hinders breathing during sleep. This leads to breathing interruptions, which cause a lack of oxygen supply, and loud snoring. Daytime sleepiness, increased blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases can be the dangerous consequences, warned the specialists. Until now, a positive airway pressure sleep mask was mainly used for treatment. However, many people find wearing the mask uncomfortable and therefore use it too little or not at all.

Now, with the weight loss injection and also with the anti-snoring pill, there are two completely new therapeutic approaches in the fight against obstructive sleep apnea. The lung experts see a new era of personalized sleep medicine dawning with these innovative treatment options, it was emphasized in the press release. Obesity is considered the main risk factor for OSA, which is why weight loss injections like Semaglutide (Ozempic) and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) come into play as an additional therapeutic approach.

"The clinical logic is straightforward: weight loss is a primary lever that reduces fat deposits in the upper airways and thus reduces obstruction," explained Lukasz Antoniewicz, head of the expert group on sleep-related breathing disorders of the ÖGP. The effect of Tirzepatide has already been impressively demonstrated in patients with severe OSA. They lost an average of 18 to 20 percent of their body weight, and their nightly breathing interruptions were significantly reduced, namely by up to 63 percent.

"The effect of these medications seems to go beyond mere weight loss. The active ingredients can reduce systemic inflammatory processes that are associated with both obesity and OSA," reported Antoniewicz of a direct effect.

Anti-Snoring Pill Not Yet Approved

Another promising pharmacological approach, which does not target weight loss but the relaxing tongue and throat muscles, is the not yet approved oral combination of active ingredients Atomoxetine and Oxybutynin, better known as the anti-snoring pill. "This dual approach directly addresses the neuromuscular control of the upper airways," explained Antoniewicz. "Atomoxetine is a selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, which is normally used to treat ADHD. Oxybutynin is a so-called antimuscarinic, which acts on the muscles of the bladder wall in an overactive bladder."

"Studies showed that the combination of these two active ingredients reduced the relaxation of the tongue muscles during sleep and supported nerve activity in the throat area, leading to a halving of breathing interruptions," said Antoniewicz. "This approach opens up new possibilities for patients who do not tolerate CPAP therapies or do not have weight-related OSA." The manufacturer has conducted an approval study and it is expected that an application for approval will be submitted in the coming years.

(APA/Red)

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