Tongue-muscle training by intraoral electrical neurostimulation in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the efficacy of tongue-muscle training by electrical neurostimulation of the upper-airway muscles as an alternative therapy option for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.


METHODS
A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study.


METHODS
Department of pneumology and sleep laboratory, University of Witten/Herdecke, Germany.


METHODS
67 patients with an apnea-hypopnea index of 10 to 40 per hour were randomly assigned to 2 groups: a treatment group of 33 patients (mean age, 50.8 +/- 12.1 years; mean body mass index, 29.1 +/- 4.4 kg/m2) and a placebo group of 34 patients (mean age, 53.3 +/- 11.3 years; mean body mass index, 28.9 +/- 4.9 kg/m2). Fifty-seven patients completed the study.


METHODS
Tongue-muscle training during the daytime for 20 minutes twice a day for 8 weeks.


RESULTS
Treatment efficacy was examined by polysomnography. Snoring, but not apnea-hypopnea index, improved with stimulation (snoring baseline, 63.9 +/- 23.1 epochs per hour; stimulation training, 47.5 +/- 31.2; P < .05) but not with placebo training (snoring baseline, 62.4 +/- 26.1 epochs per hour; placebo, 62.1 +/- 23.8; NS.).


CONCLUSIONS
Although tongue-muscle training cannot generally be recommended for the treatment of sleep apnea, the method has proven to be effective in the treatment of snoring.
Randerath
Winfried J
WJ
Bethanien Hospital, Clinic for Pneumology and Allergology, Center of Sleep Medicine and Ventilatory Care, University Witten/Herdecke, Germany. Randerath@klinik-bethanien.de
Galetke
Wolfgang
W
Domanski
Ulrike
U
Weitkunat
Rolf
R
Ruhle
Karl-Heinz
KH
D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology*