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Weight loss pill can also help get rid of snoring
London, Feb 2 (PTI) :
A pill initially developed as a weight loss drug also helps get rid of snoring, scientists have claimed.
The once-a-day pill 'Qnexa' -- a mixture of a stimulant drug phentermine and an anti-epilepsy drug topiramate -- is being hailed by some experts as the holy grail of snoring therapy.
During a course of six-month trial involving 45 patients aged between 30 and 65, researchers noted that the number of times patients' sleep was disrupted due to snoring-related problems dropped from an average of 46 times an hour to just 14 -- almost 70 per cent.
They also lost an average 10 per cent weight and saw a significant drop in blood pressure. Professor Jim Horne, a specialist in sleep medicine at Loughborough University in UK, said: "Around 50 per cent of obese people suffer sleep apnoea to some degree."
"When they lie down in bed, their muscles relax and then the fat around their neck compresses the airway even further. It's possible this drug helps by triggering weight loss or it might be that it somehow makes the throat muscles a bit more taut," Horne said. "We won't know whether it is any use to habitual snorers who are not overweight until more research has been carried out," he added
Researchers plan to carry out further studies to see if it could be a breakthrough in the treatment of sleep apnoea, the Daily Mail reported.
