Health
Some sleep apnea patients see improvement with new breathing tool
A new solution may be on the horizon for the 30 million people in the U.S. who suffer from sleep apnea.
In a Finland study, a new breathing device showed promising results in reducing symptoms of the disorder, according to researchers.
The device, called WellO2, uses resistance training to strengthen throat muscles and steam breathing to humidify airways.
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In the small study conducted by University of Turku’s Sleep Research Center, 25 participants with mild to moderate sleep apnea used the device at home twice a day for three months, breathing in and out 30 times per session.
At the end of the study period, the participants reported increased respiratory muscle strength, reduced nighttime breathing interruptions, improved sleep quality and decreased insomnia, according to a press release.
In a Finland study, a new breathing device, shown at right, has shown promising results in reducing symptoms of the disorder, according to researchers. (iStock/WellO)
Snoring occurrences were also reduced.
The findings were presented on June 5 at the Nordic Lung Congress 2024 in Helsinki, Finland.
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The study will now be peer-reviewed by the scientific congress, then will be published later this year, according to the researchers.
The device, called WellO2, uses resistance training to strengthen throat muscles, plus steam breathing to humidify airways. (WellO2)
“Currently, there are no available technologies or medications to treat sleep apnea,” lead author Dr. Usame Al-Rammahi, a doctoral researcher of pulmonary diseases and clinical allergology at the University of Turku, told Fox News Digital.
“Our first data suggest that respiratory muscle training may be the answer that not only alleviates symptoms, but also addresses the underlying cause of OSA by strengthening muscles.”
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CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) is currently the most common treatment for sleep apnea — but about a third of patients struggle to adapt to it, Al-Rammahi noted.
WellO2 is designed to be used as an add-on therapy with CPAP.
CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) is right now the most common treatment for sleep apnea, yet about a third of patients struggle to adapt to it. (iStock)
“Even though CPAP should be used as needed, WellO2 training can be used as an additional therapy, since it addresses underlying reasons and may lessen CPAP adverse effects by moistening the airways,” Al-Rammahi told Fox News Digital.
Limitations of the study
This is a preliminary report and research is currently ongoing, Al-Rammahi said.
The study also did not include a control group.
“There is no quick fix for respiratory rehabilitation.”
“Nonetheless, given that the study compared their results to each participant’s personal findings, those persons were the controls,” Al-Rammahi said.
“Despite the lack of a control group, the findings remain important. Qualified questionnaires were used, and polysomnography (PSG) was a thorough and trustworthy procedure that provided substantial results.”
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Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, a neuroscientist and sleep specialist at Wesper in New York, was not involved in the study but commented on the device’s potential.
“Sleep apnea is primarily caused by obstructions in the upper airway that block the flow of oxygen into the lungs,” she said.
Approximately 30 million people in the U.S. suffer from sleep apnea. (iStock)
“This device is designed to strengthen the muscles of the upper airway and reduce these obstructions from occurring,” she also told Fox News Digital.
While the device was shown to offer “some improvement” when tested in a small population of patients, Rohrscheib noted that use of the device was only correlated with “moderate improvement” in the number of respiratory events.
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“That means it’s not guaranteed to work for every patient or to completely eliminate your sleep apnea symptoms,” she said.
“Further, the device was not tested in patients with severe sleep apnea — thus, patients should not rely on this device alone for treatment for their sleep apnea without the guidance of a sleep physician.”
“Patients should not rely on this device alone for treatment for their sleep apnea without the guidance of a sleep physician,” a sleep expert said. (WellO2 )
Katri Lindberg, a respiratory specialist nurse in Finland who works with WellO2 as a breathing expert, said she recommends WellO2 training regularly for individuals who want to stop snoring or for whom CPAP devices are not suitable for treating sleep apnea.
“The research results are only preliminary findings from a small study, but they provide strong indications that we have found a rehabilitation tool that can now rehabilitate the symptoms of a large group of people worldwide, rather than merely alleviating them,” Lindberg told Fox News Digital.
“The study also indicates that there is no quick fix for respiratory rehabilitation. To remove symptoms and keep them at bay, regular, although relatively small, amounts of respiratory training are needed.”
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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