Wearable Sensor Detects Early Signs of Endocrine Diseases More Accurately Than Existing Tests

Life-essential stress hormones like cortisol, when disrupted by disease or lifestyle factors, can contribute to conditions such as depression, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and even severe illness. Understanding the results of a hormone test is tough or nearly impossible if just a single time point is taken, as this does not consider hormonal rhythms, resulting in delayed diagnoses and missed treatment opportunities. Until recently, understanding hormonal rhythms required multiple blood samples during hospital or research unit stays, a process that was cumbersome, intrusive, and stressful.

Now, a groundbreaking wearable device developed by endocrine researchers enables early detection of diseases related to imbalanced stress hormone levels. For the first time, fluctuations in stress hormones can be monitored during typical daily activities, including day and night periods, with the wearable device. The new collaborative research that included researchers at the University of Bristol (Bristol, UK) could radically transform the diagnosis and treatment of stress hormone system diseases. Worn around the waist, the wearable device named U-RHYTHM painlessly and automatically takes samples from under the skin every 20 minutes, eliminating the need for blood collection. Importantly, it allows sampling during sleep, work, and other daily activities for up to 72 hours in one session.

Image: The U-RHYTHM wearable monitor detects stress hormone levels across a full 24-hour day (Photo courtesy of University of Bristol)

In a study to examine the U-RHYTHM's potential, the researchers analyzed samples from 214 healthy volunteers over a 24-hour span. By using multiple data points throughout this period, the researchers generated adrenal hormone profiles reflecting the real-life conditions of healthy individuals. Mathematicians then used this information to develop a new category of "dynamic markers" in order to better comprehend how a healthy hormonal profile should appear, taking into account factors like sex, age, and body mass index. These results provide a snapshot of healthy hormonal rhythms in real-world scenarios, potentially serving as a baseline for improved, earlier diagnosis of endocrine conditions.

"Our results represent a paradigm shift in the understanding of how the stress hormone system works in healthy people," said Dr. Thomas Upton, Clinical Research Fellow in Automated Sampling at the University of Bristol and lead endocrinologist in the study. "The information we have gathered forms an entirely new reference range which has the potential to revolutionize how diseases of the stress hormone system are diagnosed and treated."

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