Grant: Project Grant - Priority Announcement: Patient-Oriented Research

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by repeated pauses in breathing during sleep caused by loss of muscle tone in the throat. OSA occurs in approximately 20% of the general population and is linked with an increased risk of early death, stroke, heart attack, daytime sleepiness, depressed mood, impaired memory, and a greater chance of motor vehicle collisions. Since OSA has a significant impact on the health of patients, it is important that effective treatments are developed to treat it. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which involves wearing a mask that delivers pressurized air into the airway during sleep, is the standard therapy for OSA and has been shown to improve mood, cognition, reduce daytime sleepiness, as well as enhance overall quality of life. Unfortunately, CPAP is too expensive or poorly tolerated by many patients. Oro-pharyngeal exercises (OPEs) are commonly used by speech language pathologists to improve strength, range of motion and tone in the muscles of the throat, and may be a promising alternative approach to treat OSA. Our objective is to assess whether OPEs, compared to sham exercises, reduce OSA severity in patients with OSA who are not using other treatment modalities such as CPAP. Patients will be randomized to OPE vs. sham control arms. Participants will complete a home sleep apnea test and assessments related to sleep, mood, and quality of life at the baseline, post-training, and retention visits. We anticipate that OPEs, compared to sham exercises, will be efficacious in reducing OSA severity. We expect that the results of this study could be practice-changing and may provide clinicians with a novel non-pharmacological approach to treating OSA that would help numerous individuals suffering from the harmful effects of untreated OSA. In addition, there would be potential cost-savings for the healthcare system as OPEs can be performed at a patient's home without the need for additional costly equipment.