"Loud snoring may do more than irritate your spouse It can signal sleep apnea depriving you of enough zzzzs to trigger a car crash even a heart attack. Now scientists are beginning to test if an implanted pacemakerlike device might help certain sufferers keeping their airways open by zapping the tongue during sleep.  Wait what does your tongue have to do with a good nights sleep One of the main causes of obstructive sleep apnea httpsmedicalxpress.comtagssleepapnea is that the tongue and throat muscles httpsmedicalxpress.comtagsthroatmuscles relax too much during sleep enough to temporarily collapse and block breathing for  seconds or so at a time. The person jerks awake and gasps a cycle that can repeat itself  or more times an hour depriving patients of crucial deep sleep httpsmedicalxpress.comtagsdeepsleep. The idea behind the experimental implant Stimulate the nerve that controls the base of the tongue with a mild electrical current httpsmedicalxpress.comtagselectricalcurrent during sleep and maybe it will stay toned and in place like it does during the day rather than becoming floppy. By the end of January Minneapolisbased Inspire Medical Systems plans to begin enrolling  apnea patients in a key study in the U.S. and Europe to see if socalled hypoglossal nerve stimulation httpsmedicalxpress.comtagsnervestimulation really could work. Two competitors are developing similar implants ImThera Medical of San Diego says it hopes to begin U.S. studies later next year and Apnex Medical of St. Paul Minn. has announced some smallscale testing. In this kind of research were not looking for little changes says Dr. Meir Kryger a sleep medicine httpsmedicalxpress.comtagssleepmedicine specialist at Gaylord Hospital in Connecticut who is helping to lead Inspires study. What were looking for is actually cure. More than  million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea according to the National Institutes of Health. Its particularly common in people who are overweight and in middleaged men but anyone can have it. Todays undisputed best treatment called CPAP uses special bedtime masks to gently blow air through the nose to keep airways open. But studies suggest at least  percent of diagnosed apnea patients wont or cant use CPAP. They cite masks that fit poorly and leak or say they feel claustrophobic or rip them off while tossing and turning during the night. Yet going untreated is more dangerous than just feeling tired. Sleep apnea stresses the body in ways that increase the risk of high blood pressure heart attack httpsmedicalxpress.comtagsheartattack stroke and diabetes. More immediately severe apnea increases the chance of a car crash sevenfold. Last year the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that pilots truck drivers and other commercial transportation operators start being screened for apnea saying it has been a factor in incidents involving every mode of transit. Surgeons sometimes try removing part of the roof of the mouth or other soft tissues to treat apnea by widening airways. But its hard to predict when these difficult operations will help so theyre usually reserved for the most severe cases. It got to the point where Id dread going to bed says Rik Krohn  of suburban Minneapolis. Sleep studies showed his apnea was awakening him an average of  times an hour. He tried five different CPAP masks unsuccessfully before giving up in frustration and surgeons turned him away. Enter hypoglossal nerve stimulation. With Inspires system doctors implant a small pacemakerlike generator under the skin near the collarbone and snake a wire up under the jaw to that tonguecontrolling nerve. A sensor at the diaphragm detects when a patient takes a breath signaling the implant to zap the nerve. Researchers adjust the power so that the nerve is stimulated just enough to keep the tongue from falling backward during sleep but not to stick out. Patients turn on the device at bedtime with a remote control complete with a timer they can set so they fall asleep before the pulses begin. I dont have any idea while Im sleeping that its on says Krohn the Minnesota man whod given up on apnea treatment until volunteering for an early Inspire study last year  and says he now gets a good nights sleep. Its a gamechanger for me. A caveat Potential participants in Inspires upcoming study must undergo a special exam where a tube snaked down the airway documents whether a tongue collapse or a problem with some other tissue is the true cause of their apnea stresses Connecticuts Kryger. Its very important to see where the obstruction is and tailor the treatment agrees Dr. Rick Odland Krohns surgeon at Minneapolis Hennepin County Medical Center. He turned away another potential candidate in earlier testing when that exam showed zapping the tongue would have targeted the wrong spot. These experiments are only now beginning with a handful of implants performed so far  and while its an interesting concept frustrated patients should try some proven steps first cautions Dr. Amy Atkeson of Columbia University Medical Center in New York. Her advice Dont give up on CPAP without first seeing an experienced sleep technician to adjust humidity levels and take other steps that not every CPAP prescriber knows to try  and if youre overweight or obese apnea greatly improves with weight loss.  More information Inspire http"