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Researchers from University of Toronto have made giant strides in the search for relief from obstructive sleep apnea, a sleeping disorder that effects more than 18 million North Americans. As reported by the Medical News, the UofT scientists found that repeated obstruction of the airways releases the brain chemical noradrenaline, an important finding as it suggests that common drugs that affect noradrenaline levels in the brain could be used to improve breathing in patients suffering from sleep apnea.

"In a recent study that appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists from the University demonstrated that repeated obstruction of the airways requires release of the brain chemical noradrenaline. The release of this chemical helps the brain learn to breathe more effectively and purposefully."

"What we showed is that repeated disruption of normal lung activity - what happens during sleep apnea - triggers a form of learning that helps you breathe better. This type of brain plasticity could be harnessed to help overcome the breathing insufficiency that typifies sleep apnea" says Dr. John Peever, Associate Professor of neuroscience and lead author of the study."

"These findings are important because they suggest that artificial manipulation with common drugs that affect noradrenaline levels in the brain could also help improve breathing in patients suffering from sleep apnea. This work could serve as the potential basis for developing the long sought after pill for sleep apnea."

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original source Medical News