University of Chicago Researchers Developing Urine Test to Identify Childhood Sleep Apnea

Released December 10, 2009
[Excerpt] A pilot study has found that levels of four proteins in a child’s urine can reliably distinguish between obstructive sleep apnea, which should receive prompt treatment, and habitual snoring, which does not require medical attention.

Such a test could alleviate the need for costly and inconvenient sleep studies in children who snore, researchers from the University of Chicago and the University of Louisville report in the December 15, 2009, issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

A simpler test could also speed up screening, diagnosis and treatment and “ameliorate the overall outcome,” the authors suggest.

“We did not expect that urine would enable us to identify OSA,” said study director David Gozal, MD, professor and chairman of pediatrics at the University of Chicago.

“However, the field of biomarkers is rapidly expanding. This opens the way for possible simple diagnostic screening methods in the future.”

Read more at [Chicago press release]