Urine test for dangerous snoring 驗尿可測危險的打鼾

◎國際新聞中心

A urine test that can differentiate between dangerous and safe snoring is possible, say researchers at the University of Chicago.

芝加哥大學研究人員表示，有可能研發出可分辨打鼾危不危險的驗尿方法。

They looked at 90 children referred to a clinic to be evaluated for breathing problems in sleep, and 30 controls. A number of proteins were increased in the urine of the children diagnosed with dangerous snoring.

他們觀察90名到診所診斷睡眠呼吸問題的孩童，以及30名對照組。被診斷出有危險打鼾的孩童，尿液中蛋白質量比較多。

The research is published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

這份研究刊登在呼吸暨重症照護期刊。

The children all had standard overnight tests and some were classified as having obstructive sleep apnoea （OSA）. OSA can lead to mental, behavioural, cardiovascular and metabolic problems in children. It is estimated that up to 3% of all children up to the age of nine may suffer from it.

這些孩童都接受標準的隔夜檢測，部分被歸類為阻塞性睡眠窒息症（OSA）。OSA可能導致孩童心理、行為、心血管與代謝問題，9歲以下孩童，約3%可能有這種疾病。

The researchers collected the children’s first sample of urine on the morning after the sleep study. They used a process with fluorescent dyes to separate and characterise the proteins in the urine and found three proteins at higher concentrations in the urine of children with OSA：urocortin 3, orosomucoid and uromodulin.

研究人員在睡眠研究後，蒐集孩童早上第一泡尿的樣本，他們使用螢光染劑，分別與標誌出尿液中的蛋白質，並發現有OSA的孩童，尿液中urocortin 3、血清類黏蛋白與尿調理素這3種蛋白質的濃度較高。

新聞辭典

snore：動詞，打鼾。例句：Sometimes my husband snores so loudly, it keeps me awake at night.（我老公有時候打鼾很大聲，讓我晚上都睡不著。）

differentiate：動詞，區隔、分別。例句：We do not differentiate between our workers on the basis of their background or ethnic origin.

（我們不因為背景或種族區隔員工。）

control：名詞，對照組。