Sleep Apnea Treatment for Children with Down Syndrome

Pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep disorder affecting children where the muscles of the throat relax too much during sleep, which causes the airway to become partially or fully blocked. A blocked airway causes you to stop breathing—this pause in breathing is known as apnea. These pauses in breathing can happen several times a night, and often cause snoring, restless sleep, or gasping for air. Sleep apnea causes lower oxygen levels in the body, which can lead to long-term health issues such as high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart disease.

Children who have sleep apnea often feel tired during the day, even if they get enough sleep. OSA can sometimes be managed with a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine (which requires the child to wear a mask during sleep) or through an adenotonsillectomy, a procedure where the tonsils and adenoids are removed during surgery. 

Children who have Down syndrome often have decreased strength in the muscles that control the tongue. This results in the tongue relaxing back into the throat during sleep and obstructing the airway – reducing oxygen levels in the body. Untreated sleep apnea in children who have Down syndrome can negatively affect growth, learning, and behavior, weaken the immune system, and create an increased risk of heart problems. 

Inspire therapy is a surgically implanted device called a hypoglossal nerve stimulator (HNS) that can help teens with Down syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea who have not seen the desired results from a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine or adenotonsillectomy. 

With hypoglossal nerve stimulation like Inspire therapy, the implant works inside the body to sense when a person takes a breath. Then, it delivers gentle pulses to the hypoglossal nerve that moves the tongue forward to keep a person’s airway open, helping them breathe regularly and sleep soundly.

Inspire therapy is approved for use in pediatric patients with Down syndrome who are:

• Aged 13-18
• Diagnosed with severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea  
• Unable to use or get consistent benefit from CPAP

and

• Not effectively treated by adenotonsillectomy 

Gillette patients who qualify for Inspire will have: 

• met with their Sleep Medicine provider
• had a sleep study done in the past 6 months
• been diagnosed with OSA

and

• had an endoscopy to determine anatomical placement of the device.