[ad_1]
Drivers and pilots could be "stunned" with fatigue after scientists have developed a blood test that will identify biomarkers of sleep deprivation.
The research could help the police identify drivers involved in road accidents who are suspected of falling asleep while driving or drowsy driving.
It could also help employers assess fitness for work, for example in the aviation or road transport sector.
Read more: A delivery man who killed a mother of four has fallen asleep at the wheel
Earlier research in this area conducted by the AAA Foundation for Road Safety has shown that drivers who have only one to two hours less than the recommended daily allowance in a 24-hour period almost double the risk of getting on the road. ;a car accident.
The test was developed at the Sleep Research Center of the University of Surrey where 36 study participants were invited to skip a night's sleep.
During this 40-hour sleep deprivation period, blood samples were taken and changes in the expression levels of thousands of genes were measured.
Read more: Doctors in Scotland receive a 46-hour respite from night work
An automatic learning algorithm identified a subset of 68 genes and, with an accuracy of 92%, it was possible to detect whether a sample came from an individual deprived of sleep or rested.
Dr. Emma Laing, a senior lecturer in bioinformatics at the University of Surrey, said, "We all know that insufficient sleep poses a significant risk to our physical and mental health, especially over a period of time. .
"However, it is difficult to independently assess the amount of a person's sleep, making it difficult for police to know if drivers were fit to drive or for employers to know if the staff is fit for work. "
Read more: Pilot fatigue may have contributed to the death of air ambulance crews
Simon Archer, professor of molecular sleep biology at the University of Surrey, said, "The identification of these biomarkers is the first step in the development of a test to accurately calculate the amount of sleep of an individual.
"The very existence of such biomarkers in the blood after only a 24-hour waking period shows the physiological impact that a lack of sleep can have on our body."
Professor Derk-Jan Dijk, director of the Surrey Sleep Research Center and principal investigator of the study, added, "This is an acute total sleep loss test; the next step is to identify biomarkers for insufficient chronic sleep, which we know to be associated with adverse health effects.
[ad_2]
Source link
