EFFECTS OF CHONDROITIN SULFATE ON SNORING CHARACTERISTICS - A PILOT-STUDY

The efficacy of bedtime nasal instillation of chondroitin sulfate solu tion was tested in a double-masked, crossover, placebo-controlled tria l of seven nonapneic subjects who snored. Subjects were assessed for r eduction in snoring using conventional polysomnographic studies, The a nalysis of snoring was performed using the recordings obtained by a mu ltidirectional microphone placed above the subject's head. Snoring was defined as an inspiratory, raspy, snort-like sound. The percentage of total sleep time (TST) spent snoring and the equal energy level relat ed to sleep were calculated for each nocturnal sleep recording. Result s of the sleep studies were similar with placebo and chondroitin sulfa te. However, the mean percentage elf TST spent snoring decreased from 46.5% with placebo to 31.3% with chondroitin sulfate, with important i nterindividual differences. Differences in the equivalent noise level related to TST decrease in the five subjects who were adequately recor ded (74.1 +/- 5.6 dB vs 70.0 +/- 4.9 dB) did not reach statistical sig nificance, Results of this study suggest that chondroitin sulfate, a l ong-acting tissue-coating agent, has the potential to reduce snoring.