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A Convenient Method for Extraction and Analysis with High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography of Catecholamine Neurotransmitters and Their Metabolites
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A Convenient Method for Extraction and Analysis with High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography of Catecholamine Neurotransmitters and Their Metabolites

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Urine levels of catecholamines in Greek children with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing

Athanasios G Kaditis1, Emmanouel I Alexopoulos, Eleni Damani

  • 1Sleep Disorders Laboratory, University of Thessaly School of Medicine, Larissa University Hospital, Larissa, Greece. kaditia@hotmail.com

Pediatric Pulmonology
|December 17, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Children with sleep-disordered breathing show higher norepinephrine levels, a stress hormone, correlating with lower oxygen levels during sleep. This indicates increased sympathetic activity in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Sleep Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Physiology
  • Endocrinology

Background:

  • Adults with obstructive sleep apnea exhibit elevated sympathetic nervous system activity.
  • This study investigates the relationship between sleep-disordered breathing symptoms and sympathetic markers in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if morning urine catecholamine levels correlate with the severity of nocturnal hypoxemia in children with symptoms of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB).
  • To assess sympathetic nervous system activation in pediatric SDB.

Main Methods:

  • Recruitment of children with snoring undergoing polysomnography and healthy controls.
  • Measurement of morning urine norepinephrine, epinephrine, normetanephrine, and metanephrine levels, normalized to urine creatinine.
  • Categorization of SDB severity based on nocturnal oxygen saturation (SpO2) nadir.

Main Results:

  • Children with severe hypoxemia (SpO2 nadir ≤86%) had significantly higher log-transformed norepinephrine levels compared to those with moderate hypoxemia or controls.
  • In children with SDB, the oxygen desaturation index and SpO2 nadir were significant predictors of log-transformed norepinephrine levels, even after adjusting for age, gender, and BMI.
  • Norepinephrine levels were significantly elevated in children with severe hypoxemia.

Conclusions:

  • The severity of nocturnal hypoxemia in children with intermittent upper airway obstruction during sleep is associated with elevated morning urine norepinephrine levels.
  • These findings suggest increased sympathetic tone in children experiencing hypoxemia due to SDB.
Abstract

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