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CPAP treatment proved effective after three weeks

Written by: David Castillo on January 26th, 2011

CPAP treatment proved effective after three weeks | read this item

A new study shows that three weeks of common therapy helped patients suffering from apnea exhibit more energy and less fatigue during the day. Researchers also say there’s evidence that the results are not simply brought about by placebo effects.

Patients of sleep apnea are characterized by symptoms such as loud snoring and waking up numerous times during their sleep as a result of blocks in their air passage. The brain is deprived of oxygen, thus leading to major fatigue and drowsiness during the following day. The most common form of treatment for sleep apnea is continuous positive airway pressure, which involves wearing a mask that will maintain oxygen supply to a patient’s air passage.

The researchers studied 59 patients whose ages average at 59 years and were separately treated with a CPAP unit and a placebo device. Results showed that after three weeks of CPAP treatment, fatigue levels went down as opposed to the placebo group.

Source: BusinessWeek