Transforming Sleep Apnea Care for People with Down Syndrome: $10.4M Research Grant Awarded

Dr. Daniel Combs, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson and ArizonaLEND alum (2012-2013), and the research team were recently awarded a $10.4 million grant from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). The grant will be used to evaluate a precision medicine approach to make obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment more effective for people with Down syndrome.

Current treatments for OSA in people with Down syndrome are often ineffective or involve surgery. Studies in children with OSA are often conducted many years after a treatment is first FDA-approved for adults and research specifically involving patients with Down syndrome are rare. “As a clinician treating children and adults with Down syndrome, I typically need to rely on data from studies from adults without Down syndrome to guide treatment,” said Dr. Combs. “We hope that more effective OSA treatment will also lead to better quality of life and cognitive outcomes as well.

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