$45 million grant will test sleep apnea diagnosis, treatment in stroke survivors

Contact: Sydney Scarbrough

scarb1sj@cmich.edu

231-742-2813

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ann Arbor, Mich., Aug. 20, 2018

$45 million grant will test sleep apnea diagnosis, treatment in stroke survivors

Neurologists already know sleep apnea is common in post-stroke patients. A new clinical trial will investigate whether treating it will help reduce the risk of another stroke and possibly even prevent initial stroke occurrences.

It’s a low-cost intervention with national implications that could impact millions – utilizing CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) to mitigate post-stroke danger and reduce the likelihood of stroke recurrence. A $45 million grant will enable 110 clinical sites throughout the nation to test 3,000 patients regarding the effectiveness of CPAP in stroke recovery and prevention.

The study, Sleep SMART (Sleep for Stroke Management and Recovery Trial), will initially screen about 15,000 patients and then downsize to 3,000 for the study. Patients will then be randomized – half using CPAP and half not. Over the course of six months, researchers will remotely monitor patients’ sleep. This will assist them in noting whether CPAP use prevents strokes, mini strokes, and death. Throughout the study, researchers will compare CPAP patients’ recovery to those without CPAP. The study’s sheer size, both numerically and geographically, make it deserving of the largest grant the department has ever gotten.

Sleep apnea has many detrimental outcomes for one’s health. In post-stroke patients, sleep apnea occurs at a 65-70% range, provoking outcomes like stroke recurrence, heart attack after stroke, and death.

“Sleep apnea is intimately tied with cardiovascular health. It affects the brain, it affects behavior, it affects mood, it affects thinking,” said Ronald Chervin, M.D.

CPAP helps those with sleep apnea sleep better and more safely throughout the night. This six-month study will focus on if it decreases the hazards that stroke and sleep apnea co-create.

Strokes now account for the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and the leading cause of adult disability. “Participants are helping to light the path for future stroke patients. It may alter therapy for the same patient down the road should they have another stroke. They may be helping to contribute to new therapies for their children or grandchildren,” said Brown.

If the research points to CPAP in reducing the fatality and debilitating nature of strokes, it will revolutionize how patients can overcome stroke and potentially diminish the possibility of stroke in sleep apnea patients. “This is something we’re very hopeful will be an entirely new way of improving outcomes after stroke,” said Devin Brown, M.D. By providing a relatively inexpensive and preventative care method, those who suffer from sleep apnea and/or stroke can look forward to a solution.

“This trial could actually give us the definitive proof that we need to change clinical practice after people have a stroke,” said Chervin.