Innovative Urine Test Detects Pediatric Sleep Disorder Often Misdiagnosed as ADHD
NuSomnea Launches Crowdfunding Campaign In Time for Sleep Apnea Awareness Week and ADHD Awareness Month
Just in time for Sleep Apnea Awareness Week 2014 and ADHD Awareness Month, NuSomnea has launched an Indiegogo fundraising campaign to help complete the development of The Easy Peezy Pee Test, an at-home urine test for diagnosing pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.
What does sleep apnea, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and a urine test have to do with each other? For millions of children, a simple urine test could mean better, healthier sleep and possibly avoiding a mistaken diagnosis of ADHD. The Easy Peezy Pee Test, an innovative diagnostic tool being developed by NuSomnea, has been found to be 96.5% accurate in determining if a child has pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea, or OSA. This serious sleep condition is associated with symptoms often mistaken for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD.
The aptly named Easy Peezy Pee Test identifies the urinary concentrations of four proteins that are predictive of pediatric OSA, representing a remarkable improvement over traditional, and costly, diagnostic methods. “Diagnosing OSA usually requires an expensive stay at a sleep lab. It’s inconvenient for parents and uncomfortable for kids,” said Michael Thomas, co-founder of NuSomnea. “We’re changing that with a simple urine test that’s more accessible, more accurate and costs about seventy-five percent less.”
Obstructive Sleep Apnea is a common sleep disorder resulting from the collapse of the pharyngeal airway during sleep, often hundreds of times per night, depleting blood oxygen saturation and contributing to a host of serious health problems. Pediatric OSA is linked to a greater incidence of childhood obesity, asthma, nervous conditions and bed-wetting. Left untreated, pediatric OSA can lead to hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diabetes as children grow older. While OSA is usually associated with adults, research shows that 2-5% of children have pediatric OSA, and it is a growing problem in the US.
Snoring is one of the indicators that a child may have OSA. Studies have reported that 27% of children snore and it can be difficult for doctors to determine from a medical exam alone which patients should be tested for OSA.
In children, other common indicators of OSA are behavioral problems, learning disabilities, hyperactivity and attention problems, which may frequently be diagnosed as ADHD or ADD. Nearly 7 million children between 4 and 17 years old are currently diagnosed with ADHD, but research has reported that up to 50% might actually have pediatric OSA. Further, a large percentage of kids with ADHD respond to the standard treatment for OSA – tonsil and adenoid surgery – reinforcing the conclusion that many have OSA in addition to or instead of ADHD. If a child has OSA, treating only for ADHD with stimulant drugs may not resolve the issue.
Because the Easy Peezy Pee Test is so convenient to administer, it has the potential to be used as both a diagnostic tool and a disease management tool to more closely monitor therapy effectiveness and improve patient outcomes.
The Easy Peezy Pee Test by NuSomnea is still in clinical development and should be available to doctors in 2016. The Easy Peezy Indiegogo fundraising campaign will offer contributors a variety of perks including fun t-shirts and backpacks featuring “The Peezies,” the adorable characters from the Easy Peezy video, as well as the Easy Peezy Pee Test when it becomes available.
*Sleep Apnea Awareness Week, October 6 through 13, is a national event focused on increasing public awareness about the sleep disorder. The American Sleep Association (ASA) sponsors the event.
*October is also ADHD Awareness Month, organized by a coalition with the intention to educate the public about ADHD using reliable, evidence-based information.
Visit http://igg.me/at/easypeezy to learn more.
About NuSomnea
NuSomnea is committed to finding better ways to identify people at risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea – a dangerous and costly disorder for children and adults – and enhance their treatment success. Our executive team has been at the forefront of innovation in both sleep lab and home sleep testing and is now developing an accurate, easier, and less expensive advancement for the detection of sleep apnea in children. The Easy Peezy Pee Test is an assay of multiple urinary peptide biomarkers which, when measured at certain levels, have been shown to be highly predictive of sleep apnea. When the development is completed and validated, this method will allow children to be diagnosed with a morning urine sample, rather than an overnight polysomnograph study in a sleep lab.
Our co-founding partner, PGXL Laboratories, is an internationally recognized pioneer in personalized medicine through the application of molecular diagnostics to pharmacogenetics and is the first laboratory to be CLIA-certified for pharmacogenetic testing.
Please visit www.NuSomnea.com for more information.
About Sleep Apnea Awareness Week 2014
The American Sleep Association (ASA) is preparing for Sleep Apnea Awareness Week 2014, a national event focused on increasing public awareness about the sleep disorder. The event is sponsored by the ASA, and this year will occur October 6 to 13, 2014.
Members and affiliates of the ASA from around the world will be participating in the event to discuss topics relating to sleep apnea with local media and the general public. The website, www.SleepApneaAwarenessWeek.com, offers important information on the signs, symptoms, risks, and treatment option of sleep apnea.
The ASA is a national organization committed to improving public awareness about sleep disorders and sleep health, promoting sleep medicine research, and providing a portal for communication between patients, physicians/healthcare professionals, corporations, and scientists. The ASA is a member-driven public service organization.
About ADHD Awareness Month
The mission of ADHD Awareness Month is to educate the public about ADHD by disseminating reliable information based on the evidence of science and peer-reviewed research. ADHD Awareness Month is organized by a coalition of members including The ADHD Coaches Organization (ACO), The Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA), ADDitude Magazine, Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD), and The National Resource Center on ADHD (NRC).
*The ASA, Sleep Awareness Week, ADHD Awareness Month and coalition members are not affiliated with NuSomnea or The Easy Peezy Pee Test.
Press Inquiries: Nicole S. Naviglia
Phone: (336) 408-2167
Email: nicole@commongiant.com
About NuSomnea
NuSomnea is committed to finding better ways to identify people at risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea – a dangerous and costly disorder for children and adults – and enhance their treatment success. Our executive team has been at the forefront of innovation in both sleep lab and home sleep testing and is now developing an accurate, easier, and less expensive advancement for the detection of sleep apnea in children. The Easy Peezy Pee Test is an assay of multiple urinary peptide biomarkers which, when measured at certain levels, have been shown to be highly predictive of sleep apnea. When the development is completed and validated, this method will allow children to be diagnosed with a morning urine sample, rather than an overnight polysomnograph study in a sleep lab.
Our co-founding partner, PGXL Laboratories, is an internationally recognized pioneer in personalized medicine through the application of molecular diagnostics to pharmacogenetics and is the first laboratory to be CLIA-certified for pharmacogenetic testing.
Please visit www.NuSomnea.com for more information.
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