New trial to assess sleep apnoea treatment in elderly patients

New trial to assess sleep apnoea treatment in elderly patients. PREDICT trial aims to find out if a common treatment improves people's quality of life - %0A " - By Lucy Goodchild - Thursday 1 October 2009 A new trial to assess the most effective way of treating elderly people for a common sleep disorder is being launched at Imperial College London, thanks to a £1.5 million research grant from the NIHR's Health Technology Assessment programme. The trial will look at the treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS), the third most common respiratory disorder after asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. OSAHS affects 2-4% of middle-aged people and 20% of people aged over 65. People with OSAHS temporarily stop breathing when they are asleep, because of a blockage in their upper airway, which wakes them up. As a result, they are often tired during the day. They can also develop high blood pressure and memory problems, because they wake up frequently and often have low levels of oxygen in their blood.