A study undertaken at the University of Chicago has found a way to diagnose Sleep Apnea in children, through an analysis of their urine.
This was a study conducted on 90 children who had been referred with suspected breathing disorders during sleep, and 30 children who did not snore, who acted as controls in the study.
Through electrophoresis, it was established children with Obstructive Sleep Apnea have a distinctive protein ‘tag’ in their urine, which can be detected by screening.
This wasn’t exactly what they were expecting to find. David Gozal, the leader of the study, said that “it was rather unexpected that the urine would provide us with the ability to identify OSA.”
Unexpected it may be, it’s still going to be put to good use. Gozal continues, advising that “we wish to validate these findings in urine samples from many children from laboratories around the country and develop a simple color-based test.. (which may) open up the possibility of developing a relatively simple urine test that could detect OSA in snoring children.”
This, if it works, could simplify the process of diagnosis, as currently it can take lengthy sleep studies to decide whether or not a child is one of the 20-30 percent of snorers who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
Unexpected it may be, it’s still going to be put to good use. Gozal continues, advising that “we wish to validate these findings in urine samples from many children from laboratories around the country and develop a simple color-based test.. (which may) open up the possibility of developing a relatively simple urine test that could detect OSA in snoring children.”
This, if it works, could simplify the process of diagnosis, as currently it can take lengthy sleep studies to decide whether or not a child is one of the 20-30 percent of snorers who suffer from Sleep Apnea.
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