Central Sleep Apnea : Physiologic Mechanisms to Inform Treatment

Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phasePhase 4
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorVA Office of Research and Development

About this trial

Central sleep apnea (CSA) is common in patients with heart failure and those using opioid analgesics. Unfortunately, effective treatment of central apnea remains elusive, pressure therapy given the modest efficiency of positive airway pressure therapy. The focus of this proposal is to identify mechanistic pathways to guide future therapeutic interventions for central sleep apnea based on the strong premise that multi-modality therapy will normalize respiration and hence mitigate adverse long-term consequences of CSA. The investigators' proposed studies will test combination therapies, including positive airway pressure (PAP) plus a pharmacological agent who have heart failure or are using opioid analgesics. The investigators anticipate that findings will inform future clinical trials to improve care and quality of life among Veterans suffering from central sleep apnea, which remains difficult to treat using existing approaches.

Eligibility criteria

This trial accepts healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

Men and women Veterans with central sleep apnea, defined as Apnea Hypopnea Index (AHI)>15/hour with CAHI>5/hour, will be included in the experiments

Disqualifiers

less than 18 years old

pregnant or breastfeeding female

have severe respiratory disease that require to be on oxygen

recent health event that may affect the ability to participate in the study,

Trial design

Design model

Crossover

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Acetazolamide + supplemental oxygen + PAP therapy

    Drug

    Every participant will undergo measurement of the apneic threshold. The apneic threshold (AT) can be determined by inducing central apnea using non-invasive ventilation (NIV) or eliminating central apnea using supplemental CO2. The requisite change to induce central apnea is referred to as the CO2 reserve, which can be positive or negative. The central apnea index and the apneic threshold will be measured while participants receiving medication or oxygen (or both). In addition, participants will get PAP therapy during all the conditions.

  • Zolpidem + PAP therapy

    Drug

    The central apnea index and the apneic threshold will be compared under two conditions: zolpidem or placebo. In addition, participants will get PAP therapy during both the conditions.

  • Buspirone + PAP therapy

    Drug

    The central apnea index and the apneic threshold will be compared under two conditions: buspirone or placebo. In addition, participants will get PAP therapy during both the conditions.

Treatment groups

200 Participants
are divided into 3 treatment groups
Group A: acetazolamideActive comparator 1 intervention
Group B: zolpidemActive comparator 1 intervention
Group C: buspironeActive comparator 1 intervention

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

1

CO2 reserve

CO2 reserve is the requisite change to induce central apnea is referred to as the CO2 reserve, which can be positive or negative.

Time frame
120 days
2

Central apnea indices

Central apnea indices is used to indicate the severity of central sleep apnea

Time frame
120 days

Secondary outcomes

1

Controller gain

Controller gain is a ventilatory response to changes in end-tidal PCO2

Time frame
120 days
2

Plant gain

Plant gain is blood gas response to a change in ventilation. This measure represents the effectiveness of the "plant" in eliminating CO2.

Time frame
120 days
3

Carotid body function

This measure represents the activity of the carotid bodies. It is measured by the decrease in ventilation in response to a single breath of 100% oxygen.

Time frame
120 days
4

Peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity

Peripheral chemoreflex sensitivity is measured either via brief hypoxia or a single breath of CO2.

Time frame
120 days

Other outcomes

Sponsors and contacts

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