Targeted Sleep Apnea Treatment with Dronabinol Instead of a generic pill
Official title: Targeted Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea with Dronabinol: Proof of Concept and Phase II Clinical Trial
Funded at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center · NIH-11294174 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study in veterans tests whether the FDA-approved drug dronabinol can reduce sleep apnea severity and who is most likely to benefit.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Jesse Brown VA Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2025 |
| Project end | February 28, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01CX002632-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11294174 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Veterans with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea who may or may not have tried standard therapies.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with contraindications to dronabinol or those unlikely to respond based on the prediction model may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project will build a model to predict who from a group of veterans with obstructive sleep apnea might respond to dronabinol, using sleep studies and clinical data. If the model performs well, a phase II randomized trial will enroll veterans who are predicted to respond to dronabinol to test its efficacy over twelve weeks. If the prediction model isn’t robust, the trial will proceed with all eligible veterans to see if dronabinol lowers the apnea severity index compared with placebo. Data from these steps will help plan a future larger trial and refine patient selection. Participants will be recruited at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, and safety and efficacy will be monitored throughout the study.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, dronabinol could become a medication option for reducing sleep apnea severity in veterans, potentially improving sleep quality and cardiovascular risk.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier work showed some individuals had meaningful reductions in apnea severity with dronabinol, supporting further study.
Where this research is happening
-
Jesse Brown VA Medical Center
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Prasad, Bharati — Jesse Brown VA Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Prasad, Bharati
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.