A weekly shot cut breathing pauses during sleep in adults with sleep apnea

If sleep apnea leaves you tired every morning, here is good news. An experimental weekly shot called retatrutide sharply cut the breathing pauses that interrupt sleep, and it also brought major weight loss.

You can’t get it at the pharmacy yet. It is still being tested. But two large trials show it worked for adults with sleep apnea and extra weight, and that is a real step toward another treatment option.

How the study worked

Researchers ran two randomized, double-blind trials in which neither the patients nor the staff knew who got the real shot. They included 243 adults without type 2 diabetes and 448 adults with it. All had moderate to severe sleep apnea and a body mass index of at least 27. Each person got a weekly shot of retatrutide (4, 9 or 12 mg) or a placebo for 80 weeks, and the results appeared Oct. 21, 2026, in the New England Journal of Medicine. Retatrutide is still an investigational drug, the maker Eli Lilly paid for the trials, and many people still had sleep apnea at the end.

What they found

The main measure was how many times per hour breathing stopped or got shallow during sleep. Doctors call this the apnea-hypopnea index, or AHI. People started at an average of 58.6 events per hour in the first trial and 55.9 in the second.

After 80 weeks, the drop was large. Among people without diabetes, the 9 mg dose cut 34.3 events per hour. The placebo group dropped 9.9. Among people with diabetes, the 12 mg dose cut 25.4 events per hour, compared with 10.3 on placebo.

Weight loss went along with it. People on retatrutide lost between 12.5% and 22.2% of their body weight without diabetes, and between 12.1% and 18.5% with diabetes. On placebo, the figures were 4.8% and 5.6%. The most common side effects were stomach and digestive problems.

The researchers concluded that retatrutide cut breathing pauses significantly more than placebo in adults with sleep apnea and excess weight, with or without type 2 diabetes.

Why does weight matter for sleep apnea?

Obstructive sleep apnea happens when the airway keeps closing during sleep. Extra weight is closely linked to it. The usual treatment is a CPAP machine, a mask that keeps your airway open with gentle air pressure. It works well, but many people find it hard to use night after night.

This result points to a different route: treat the weight, and the breathing pauses drop too. Another drug in the same family, tirzepatide, is already approved for this use in some countries. Losing weight also helps blood pressure and blood sugar, which matter if you have sleep apnea. If you use CPAP now, keep using it. Nothing in this study changes that.

What you can do today

Tonight, ask whoever shares your home whether you snore loudly or seem to stop breathing in your sleep. Write down what they say, along with how sleepy you feel during the day. Bring that note to your next checkup and ask about a sleep study, the test that shows whether you have sleep apnea and how serious it is.