SELECTING BIOMARKERS FOR THE MOLECULAR DIAGNOSIS OF SLEEPINESS

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): It is a common experience to sacrifice sleep to meet the demands of our 24-h society. Current estimates reveal that, as a society, we sleep on average 2 h less than we did 40 years ago. This level of sleep restriction results in negative health outcomes and is sufficient to produce cognitive deficits, reduced attention, and is associated with increased risk for traffic and occupational accidents. Unfortunately, there is no simple quantifiable marker that can detect an individual who is excessively sleepy before adverse outcomes become evident. To address this issue we have developed a simple and effective strategy for identifying biomarkers of sleepiness using genetic and pharmacological tools that dissociate sleep drive from wake time in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. In this proposal we will choose select genes from our Drosophila Database of Biomarkers to develop a noninvasive tool that can be used for the molecular diagnosis of sleepiness in humans. We will identify genes that are responsive to acute sleep loss then determine if these biomarkers are altered in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.PROJECT NARRATIVE Sleep loss adversely effects metabolic processes, endocrine functions, and immunology and may increase the susceptibility of individuals to serious diseases, including obesity, type II diabetes and coronary heart disease to name a few. Developing tools for the molecular diagnosis of sleepiness will assist with the identification and treatment of sleepiness in the general population and in critical patient populations.