Investigators: Harvey Coates, Lea-Ann Kirkham, Peter Richmond, Ruth Thornton, Shyan Vijayasekaran
Summary: We are testing the causes of sleep apnoea and whether bacterial infection of the adenoids plays a role in this disease. This project may provide insight into new avenues of treatment for sleep apnoea that do not involve surgery.
Project description:
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) related to adenotonsillar hypertrophy is a major cause of morbidity in young children affecting 2-3% under 10 years of age. Adenotonsillectomy for OSA and recurrent tonsillitis (RT) is the most common major surgery in children with a significant cost and burden on our healthcare system. There is a paucity of data on the pathogenesis of paediatric OSA related to adenotonsillar hypertrophy and there is a need for urgent research into this area.
This project aimed to investigate the host immune response to the pathogenic bacteria that reside in the nasopharynx, tonsils and adenoids from children with OSA and RT as well as the nasopharynx of healthy children. To address this we have recruited a cohort of children undergoing adenoidectomy and/or tonsillectomy whose samples are bio-banked to:
- Identify the species of bacteria and the relative abundance of these compared to total bacterial load in the tonsils, adenoids and nasopharyngeal swabs by conducting Real-time PCR.
- Determine differences in the antibody responses to the bacterial pathogens between children with OSA, RT and healthy controls. Bacterial antigen specific antibody response to pathogens within the tonsils and adenoids were measured using multiplex bead based technologies
- Determine the presence of ongoing chronic low grade inflammation at the time of surgery in these children through measurement of CRP and procalcitonin levels
- Examine the overall atopic status of children requiring surgery for OSA or RT compared to the healthy control population by measuring total IgE, aeroallergen specific IgE and food allergen IgE. This measurements were conducted at the Pathwest laboratories using diagnostic methodologies.