Obstructive sleep apnea affects roughly 30 million adults in the US, causing repeated pauses in breathing during sleep. Standard treatment is CPAP, a bedside machine that pushes air through a mask to keep the airway open. Many people can't tolerate CPAP long-term, and research is testing alternative approaches.
What's actually going on in research
Trials are testing upper airway nerve stimulators implanted under the skin, drugs that target the breathing control system, weight-loss medications like semaglutide that may reduce apnea severity, and various surgical approaches. Researchers are also studying how sleep apnea drives cardiovascular disease and whether treating it prevents heart attacks and strokes.
Hypoglossal nerve stimulators
Devices implanted in the chest send signals to the tongue nerve, keeping the airway open during sleep. Multiple models are FDA-approved, and trials are testing who benefits most and how to expand eligibility.
Pharmacologic approaches
Several drugs are in trials, targeting different pathways that control breathing muscles during sleep. Some combine stimulants with other agents to stabilize the airway without requiring a mask.
GLP-1 medications
Weight-loss drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide appear to reduce sleep apnea severity in people with obesity. Trials are measuring whether the improvement is enough to eliminate CPAP need.
What to know before you search
Eligibility typically depends on apnea severity measured by sleep study, body mass index, previous CPAP use, and anatomy of the airway.
What types of trials are currently open
- Device trials — Testing nerve stimulators, tongue devices, and other implanted or wearable technologies that keep the airway open.
- Drug trials — Testing medications that strengthen airway muscles, stabilize breathing patterns, or reduce inflammation in the upper airway.
- Weight-loss trials — Studies of GLP-1 medications and other weight-loss treatments to see if reducing body weight eliminates sleep apnea.
- Cardiovascular outcome trials — Following people with sleep apnea to measure whether treatment reduces heart attacks, strokes, and death.
- Surgical trials — Testing procedures that reshape the airway, remove tissue, or reposition the jaw to prevent collapse during sleep.
Recently added Obstructive Sleep Apnea trials
Donate blood samples to identify sleep apnea heart disease risk
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is commonly assessed using the apnea-hypopnea index, although this measure does not fully reflect cardiovascular risk or the physiological impact of the disease. Emerging biomarkers, including sleep apnea-specific hypoxic burden, pulse wave amplitude drop index, and heart rate response, may provide additional information on cardiovascular vulnerability. This prospective multicenter observational study will investigate the association between these biomarkers, measured from the diagnostic sleep study, and adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy after three months. Symptoms, quality of life, clinical characteristics, and changes in biomarkers under continuous positive airway pressure will also be evaluated.
Wear a smart ring and receive a throat exam for sleep apnea diagnosis
This study evaluates whether a clinical upper airway assessment tool (the Clinical Examination Score plus ENT Examination Score, CES-EES) and an artificial-intelligence wearable ring (Belun Ring, Belun Sleep System BLS-100) can serve as accurate, less resource-intensive alternatives to in-lab polysomnography (PSG) for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Adults referred to the Otorhinolaryngology sleep clinic at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) for suspected OSA, who score 4 or more on the combined CES-EES scale, undergo a single overnight Level 1 in-lab PSG. The Belun Ring is worn concurrently with standard PSG electrodes during this same overnight study. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) from the Belun Ring and the CES-EES score, individually and in combination, are compared against the AHI from in-lab PSG -- the diagnostic reference standard -- to assess their agreement, correlation, and diagnostic accuracy for OSA.
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