Sleep apnea: treatment with protriptyline.
Fourteen patients with an average of more than 60 episodes of upper airway obstruction during night sleep were treated with a nonsedating tricyclic antidepressant, protriptyline. Frequency and duration of recorded apneas decreased in 11 cases, and satisfactory control of sleep apnea was maintained with medical therapy alone in 8 of these 11 patients for 7 to 15 months. Potential adverse effects of protriptyline, particularly on the cardiovascular system, limit its use in this illness. These results indicate the possibility of pharmacologic reversal of sleep-induced incoordination of the upper airway.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000402:Airway Obstruction / Q000188:drug therapy; D001049:Apnea / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003986:Dibenzocycloheptenes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011530:Protriptyline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*
D003986:Dibenzocycloheptenes; D011530:Protriptyline