(Press-News.org) An electronic nose, used to detect the presence of molecules in the breath of a patient, could be used to diagnose obstructive sleep apnoea.
A new study, published online today ahead of print (25 October 2012) in the European Respiratory Journal, could make the diagnosis of the condition quick and inexpensive compared to current methods.
The gold standard used to identify sleep apnoea is an overnight sleep test. This is technically demanding, time-consuming and cost-intensive.
Electronic nose devices have been shown to distinguish between a number of diseases; they do this by analysing the pattern of volatile organic compounds in breath samples. This is the first study that has assessed whether the electronic nose could be used to confirm the presence of sleep apnoea.
Researchers analysed the breath of 40 sleep apnoea patients and 20 healthy controls. Sleep apnoea is associated with inflammation in the upper airways, which the researchers suggested could be detected by analysis of the exhaled breath of the patients. The study also aimed to assess whether the electronic nose could detect the effects of the standard treatment for sleep apnoea i.e. continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
The researchers performed questionnaires and sleep examinations to confirm sleep apnoea in 40 patients. They also collected throat washings from patients to measure any improvement in their condition following treatment with CPAP. The researchers then used a statistical analysis model to calculate the accuracy of the electronic nose.
The results found that the electronic nose could effectively diagnose sleep apnoea. The statistical analysis showed that sleep apnoea was detected with a sensitivity of 93%.
Lead author, Dr Timm Greulich, from the Marburg Hospital in Germany, said: "This is the first time an electronic nose has been tested in the setting of sleep apnoea diagnosis. The electronic nose could be useful in two ways. First, it can rule out the disease in a low prevalence population. Secondly, in a population with a high risk of sleep apnoea, the device could be used to help decide who would need to undergo an overnight sleep examination. Following these results, we foresee that the use of an electronic nose could reduce costs by more appropriately selecting patients who require the sleep examination."
European Respiratory Journal Associate Editor, Professor Ramon Farre, commented: "This is an interesting study, adding to a growing body of evidence demonstrating that electronic noses are a future potential tool for the detection of respiratory diseases. Although the results are encouraging, it is important to acknowledge the limitations in this kind of statistical analysis and it is not yet definite proof that this is an accurate diagnostic tool. It is, however, the first study to consider the application of an electronic nose for sleep apnoea and we look forward to seeing future research expanding on this important initial research."
### Notes to editors:
Title: Detection of obstructive sleep apnoea by an electronic nose
Authors: Timm Greulich, Akira Hattesohl, Antje Grabisch, Janine Koepke, Severin
Schmid, Sarah Noeske, Christoph Nell, Marion Wencker, Rudolf Jörres, Claus
Franz Vogelmeier, Ulrich Köhler, Andreas Rembert Koczulla
DOI: 10.1183/09031936.000917.12
When the embargo lifts, the paper can be viewed at: http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/recent
To read about more research on the potential use of electronic noses, view the below papers:
http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/39/3/669.abstract
http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/40/2/448.abstract
For further information on the ERJ, please contact: Lauren Anderson, European Lung Foundation, lauren.anderson@europeanlung.org
Electronic nose could be used to detect sleep apnoea
2012-10-25
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Live cables explain enigmatic electric currents
2012-10-25
This press release is available in German.
Researchers at Aarhus University, Denmark, made a sensational discovery almost three years ago when they measured electric currents in the seabed. It was unclear as to what was conducting the current, but the researchers imagined the electric currents might run between different bacteria via a joint external wiring network.The researchers have now solved the mystery. It turns out that the whole process takes place inside bacteria that are one centimetre long. They make up a kind of live electric cable that no one had ever imagined ...
Feeling hot, hot, hot
2012-10-25
We're not used to thinking of ourselves as animals. But as Jason Samson sees it, climate is as important in shaping the distribution and movement of humans as it is in other animals. The McGill-trained ecologist and fellow researchers have been using modeling techniques similar to those used to define the ecological niche for plant and animal species to explore the correlation between climate patterns and population growth in the contiguous United States between 1900-2000. And what they discovered was a pronounced population shift away from areas within the U.S. with cool ...
Astronomers report that dark matter 'halos' may contain stars, disprove other theories
2012-10-25
Could it be that dark matter "halos" — the huge, invisible cocoons of mass that envelop entire galaxies and account for most of the matter in the universe — aren't completely dark after all but contain a small number of stars? Astronomers from UCLA, UC Irvine and elsewhere make a case for that in the Oct. 25 issue of the journal Nature.
Astronomers have long disagreed about why they see more light in the universe than it seems they should — that is, why the infrared light they observe exceeds the amount of light emitted from known galaxies.
When looking at the cosmos, ...
Flycatchers' genomes explain how 1 species became 2
2012-10-25
Just how new species are established is still one of the most central questions in biology. In an article in the leading scientific journal Nature, researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden describe how they mapped the genomes of the European pied flycatcher and the collared flycatcher and found that it is disparate chromosome structures rather than separate adaptations in individual genes that underlies the separation of the species.
"We were surprised that such a large part of the genome was nearly identical in the two species," says Hans Ellegren, professor of evolutionary ...
Parkinson's breakthough could slow disease progression
2012-10-25
CHICAGO --- In an early-stage breakthrough, a team of Northwestern University scientists has developed a new family of compounds that could slow the progression of Parkinson's disease.
Parkinson's, the second most common neurodegenerative disease, is caused by the death of dopamine neurons, resulting in tremors, rigidity and difficulty moving. Current treatments target the symptoms but do not slow the progression of the disease.
The new compounds were developed by Richard B. Silverman, the John Evans Professor of Chemistry at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences ...
Survival of the affordable care act assessed in new commentaries
2012-10-25
(Garrison, NY) As the presidential candidates clash over the fate of the Affordable Care Act, a set of seven essays by leading legal experts, economists, and scholars examines the implications of the Supreme Court's decision on the ACA and makes it clear that there is no consensus about what is economically or morally just when it comes to health care coverage in this country. The essays appear in the Hastings Center Report.
While the essays provide a range of perspectives, a few common themes emerge. Foremost among them is that the individual mandate may not work as ...
Gene linked to inflammation in the aorta may contribute to abdominal aortic aneurysm
2012-10-25
A gene known to be involved in cancer and cardiovascular development may be the cause of inflammation in the most common form of aortic aneurysm and may be a key to treatment, according to research from Nationwide Children's Hospital. The study, appearing online in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology on October 18, 2012, is the first to show that Notch 1 signaling is activated in abdominal aortic aneurysmal tissue in mice and humans.
The aorta is the largest blood vessel in the body. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) occurs when the weakened aortic wall dilates ...
Results of the ETAP trial presented at TCT 2012
2012-10-25
MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 24 , 2012 – A study found that a nitinol stent performed better than balloon angioplasty alone in treating blockages of the popliteal artery, which runs through the leg behind the knee. Results of the ETAP trial were presented today at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular medicine.
Due to its location behind the mobile knee joint, it is controversial ...
Brain waves reveal video game aptitude
2012-10-25
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists report that they can predict who will improve most on an unfamiliar video game by looking at their brain waves.
They describe their findings in a paper in the journal Psychophysiology.
The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to peek at electrical activity in the brains of 39 study subjects before they trained on Space Fortress, a video game developed for cognitive research. The subjects whose brain waves oscillated most powerfully in the alpha spectrum (about 10 times per second, or 10 hertz) when measured at the front of the head ...
Results of the TRILOGY ACS Angiographic Cohort presented at TCT 2012
2012-10-25
MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 24, 2012 – A study has found that the anti-clotting medication prasugrel reduced cardiovascular events among patients who present with an acute coronary syndrome and are managed medically after an angiogram is performed to determine coronary anatomy. Results of the TRILOGY ACS trial, Angiographic Cohort were presented today at the 24th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium. Sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF), TCT is the world's premier educational meeting specializing in interventional cardiovascular ...