A SLEEP poster presentation looked at demographic predictors to determine success of Inspire UAS success in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
A new study finds that increased age and a reduced body mass index (BMI) are predictors of response in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients undergoing upper airway stimulation (UAS). The poster was presented at SLEEP 2018 and the abstract was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep. It was supported by Inspire Medical Systems Inc, makers of the Inspire UAS, the only FDA cleared neurostimulation device for OSA available in the United States to date. The researchers selected patients who had an implanted UAS system—for CPAP intolerant patients with moderate to severe OSA—and followed up at 6 and 12 months post-implant.
“We were trying to collect data on a large set of patients undergoing UAS and potentially see which factors predict good outcome,” says Richard Schwab, MD, an author of the study. “We found that both increased age and a reduced BMI helped patients do better.” Overall, 80% of patients in the study were deemed UAS successes.
The research team also looked at baseline apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) but found it wasn’t a significant predictor.
While more research would need to be done to tell whether age and BMI are the main predictors of UAS therapy success, Schwab says it’s important to note an underlying message. “It’s probably too early to just assume that these are the primary predictors. But I do think one of the messages here is that upper airway stimulation works pretty well for sleep apnea overall,” he says.
In the future, Schwab says he’d like to get a better look at what’s actually happening in these patients. “We now need to understand exactly what’s happening to these patients themselves, to their upper airway, rather than just looking at a registry,” he says. “That’s what needs to be done next.”
Dillon Stickle is associate editor of Sleep Review.
This little machine is a miracle! I have had mine since Feb 2018, I can sleep without fear of never waking up again. Before implant my brain was in a fog and hands were numb… now those symptoms are gone and energy to return to sports. Life changing.
Thank you Inspire.
Sincerely Tim
I never knew how good life can be until after I got my Inspire implant. I now sleep and wake up energized and ready to go. No more naps and I don’t fall asleep at my desk. Thank you Inspire for bringing my life back!
The date: July, 2016! Out-patient surgery to implant the Inspire device! This brought an end to sleeping with a mask next to a “wind” machine!! It also allowed me to go to sleep and wake up peacefully! I love hearing the bard owl at night and the early morning chirping birds! Best of all, my energy, concentration, and driving are back to normal!!!
Thanks to the Inspire device I feel I have my life back!
I use my Inspire every night faithfully and wake up refreshed and full of energy. No more naps needed and no more falling asleep wherever I sit down.
Thank you Inspire for giving me back a normal life.
Chris Wirtz
A miracle happened to me February 2018! I had surgery at Duke Hospital for the Inspire UAS. After having severe sleep apnea for 13 years, I sleep without a CPAP!! I dreaded each night wearing a mask and the constant air beating through my airway….but it was keeping me alive.
Now, I sleep great, wake up with no headache, my head not all dried up, ‘foggy headed’, and ready to lay back down after an hour! I went from 40 AHI when diagnosed in 2004 to ONE AHI now!!!
Amazing medical breakthrough for sleep apnea patients. I pray it becomes more accessible to all with this serious condition.
I am a 71 female. I had testing for sleep apnea in 2014. Of course I snore something terrible but the real concern is my oxygen level drops into the sixties. I have tried the cpap and can not tolerate it. My sinuses go absolutely crazy and I can leave the house for close to an hour after I get up
because of the severe drainage. Is there any possibility I could be a candidate for inspire. It sounds like a miracle to me.