# A sleep biomarker test for management of ADHD

> **NIH ALLCDC R43** · PGXL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC · 2022 · $309,250

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 PGXL Technologies is developing the Uromarker test for rapid screening of obstructive sleep apnea
(OSA) and sleep disordered breathing that may contribute to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in
children. ADHD is the most common behavioral disorder in children and has significant effects on short- and
long-term outcomes including poor education performance, increased risk of substance abuse, and reduced
occupational success, amongst others. Recent research has identified that as many as 70% of patients with
ADHD have mild to severe sleep problems. Daytime behavioral symptoms seen in OSA and sleep disordered
breathing share many similarities with the clinical manifestations of ADHD including impaired attention regulation,
overactivity, mood lability, behavior problems, poor impulse control, and prolonged reaction time. The association
between sleep problems and ADHD are likely complex and multidirectional, but there is increasing evidence that
demonstrates treatment of OSA may decrease or even eliminate ADHD symptoms.
 Treatment of OSA with standard approaches such as adenotonsillectomy has been associated with
decreased ADHD symptoms up to a year after treatment. Identification of patients with OSA in the context of
ADHD will therefore aid in determining the more appropriate first step in the multi-modal approach to treatment
of ADHD. Unfortunately, OSA and sleep disturbances in children are only diagnosed with polysomnography tests
that are expensive, require overnight sleep studies, and often have long wait times for patients to receive the
test. These tests are not routinely considered in ADHD work-up. The development of a rapid screening test for
OSA and sleep disordered breathing will provide significant clinical value in the diagnostic clarification of ADHD.
 To address this need, PGXL Technologies is developing the Uromarker test, a rapid multiplexed test that
uses 4 biomarkers present in urine to efficiently and cost-effectively identify OSA or sleep disordered breathing
in children. These biomarkers, when used in combination, have previously been shown to have 100% sensitivity
and 96.5% specificity for detection of OSA in children compared to healthy primary snoring controls. PGXL
Technologies has the patent to these biomarkers and, in this Phase I proposal, PGXL will develop these
biomarkers into a multiplexed, high-throughput assay using all 4 biomarkers and will analytically characterize the
assay. The stability of the biomarkers in urine will also be demonstrated to show feasibility for a mail-in urine
collection kit that will enable identification of OSA and sleep disordered breathing in children towards supporting
ADHD diagnosis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10545222
- **Project number:** 1R43DD001299-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** PGXL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher Thomas Burns
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $309,250
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-30 → 2023-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10545222

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10545222, A sleep biomarker test for management of ADHD (1R43DD001299-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10545222. Licensed CC0.

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