Development of biomarker panels for point-of-care assessment of sleep disorders

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Many snoring children may have primary snoring PS defined as habitual snoring without alteration in sleep architecture alveolar ventilation and oxygenation On the other hand obstructive sleep apnea OSA is a condition characterized by recurrent episodes of gas exchange abnormalities and repeated arousals that affects up to of all year old children with African American fold and obese children fold being at much increased risk Thus far overnight polysomnographic assessment PSG is required for the definitive diagnosis of OSA in children since clinical history and physical examination are insufficient to confirm its presence or severity and most of the abbreviated tests have also limited value as a screening method Unfortunately overnight sleep studies are onerous labor intensive impose substantial discomfort on the children and their families and are relatively inaccessible to children such that waiting times between referral for evaluation to diagnosis commonly take months across the USA Furthermore access for such sleep studies among underserved and inner city children is even less likely to be available particularly considering that less than physicians across the USA are currently trained and certified to evaluate sleep disorders in children Considering that complete reversal of the SDB associated morbidities is possible following effective treatment e g improvements in learning and behavior it is therefore rational to identify these children as soon as possible using simple and reliable diagnostic procedures A feasible yet challenging approach would be the development of simple and rapid screening tests using either blood or urine that would enable identification of children with OSA for subsequent clinical workup and treatment We propose to develop such a system under this SBIR project PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE The relative complexity and costs associated with overnight polysomnography as the gold standard tool employed for diagnosing the vast majority of sleep disorders has spurred the quest for alternative diagnostic methods particularly in children Among these special interest has centered on the discovery of biomarkers Modest progress thus far accomplished in the context of sleep disorders in general and of OSA in particular will tremendously accelerate in the upcoming years while using our proposed innovative and exciting techniques Such efforts will undoubtedly lead to unprecedented resolution accuracy and ultimately to field validation and commercialization of OSA related biomarkers End of Abstract