Ventilatory drive and sleep apnea: a precision approach to better treatment
Official title: Role of ventilatory drive in obstructive sleep apnea: An avenue for precision intervention
Funded at Brigham and Women's Hospital · NIH-11392231 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A new NIH-funded project tests whether tweaking breathing drive during sleep can prevent obstructive sleep apnea events without relying on traditional CPAP.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $876,379 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL168067-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11392231 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with obstructive sleep apnea who may respond to drive-modulation strategies and consent to detailed sleep and physiological measurements.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals whose sleep apnea is driven by factors unrelated to ventilatory drive or who cannot tolerate the study procedures.
What this research studies
If you have obstructive sleep apnea, this study looks at how your brain’s drive to breathe affects your airway during sleep. Researchers will test targeted carbon dioxide delivery to see if it can stop apnea events in people whose breathing drive changes are tied to those events. They will measure airway openings, sleep stability, and muscle activity in the throat to understand how timing of breathing drive influences symptoms. The goal is to pave the way for personalized treatments that work with your body's own breathing signals.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to precise, physiology-driven treatments for sleep apnea that may reduce reliance on CPAP.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work suggests ventilatory drive can influence obstructive events, with later steps needed to translate findings into patient-friendly therapies.
Where this research is happening
-
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Azarbarzin, Ali — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Azarbarzin, Ali
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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.