The effect of drugs on breathing during sleep.

We hope that the reader is impressed with the relatively limited amount of information available about the effects of drugs on breathing during sleep in both normal subjects and patients with sleep-disordered breathing. Although more reports are appearing, well-controlled evaluations remain limited in number. We believe that this information gap will quickly close because it is now increasingly appreciated that either spontaneous or drug-induced breathing abnormalities measured during wakefulness may be strikingly magnified during sleep. Therefore, this area of investigation is exciting. Finally, we hope the reader shares our view that, to date, drug therapy for sleep apnea has limited efficacy.