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A team of researchers from the universities of Bristol, Birmingham, and Bergen has developed a new wearable called U-RHYTHM. It can track the steroids produced by the adrenal glands, specifically cortisol, during regular daily activities. This allows for the detection of disorders related to cortisol and other stress hormones.
Development Background
Cortisol and other hormones produced by the adrenal glands impact the whole body, including the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and immune systems. Imbalances in these hormones due to high levels of stress, certain health disorders, and lifestyle factors have been associated with conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and depression.
However, testing for these hormones at a single moment of the day provides only a snapshot of hormone levels and does not reveal the normal hormonal rhythms throughout the day and night. Detecting these rhythms can help medical professionals identify signs of adrenal gland dysfunction. In turn, this enables timely diagnosis and treatment of stress hormone-related disorders.
Therefore, the typical 24-hour testing for stress hormones is limited to hospital settings. Clinicians draw blood samples from individuals multiple times during the day and during sleep. However, being in a medical facility itself can be a separate source of stress.
About the New U-RHYTHM Wearable
The U-RHYTHM device is attached to a comfortable band worn around the thighs, equipped with a microdialysis membrane that sits directly on the skin. The device painlessly takes samples from under the skin every 20 minutes. It can collect samples for up to 72 hours in a single session and monitors stress hormone levels during a person’s daily activities and sleep.
In a study published in Science Translational Medicine, the research team tested U-RHYTHM for 24 hours on 214 healthy volunteers.
The team measured cortisol levels and determined the daily and ultradian variations of free cortisone, corticosterone, 18-hydroxycortisol, aldosterone, tetrahydrocortisol, and allo-tetrahydrocortisol. They were also able to detect the presence of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S).
Using mathematical and computational methods, the team developed “dynamic markers” of normal stress hormone rhythms in healthy individuals, categorized by age, gender, and body mass index (BMI). This allowed the team to gain a better understanding of what a healthy hormonal profile may look like.
Scientists’ Conclusions
According to the researchers, the results demonstrate what healthy hormonal rhythms look like in real-life conditions. They could serve as a basis for new and improved methods of diagnosing endocrine disorders at much earlier stages.
Our results represent a paradigm shift in the understanding of how the stress hormone system works in healthy people. The information we have gathered forms an entirely new reference range which has the potential to revolutionise how diseases of the stress hormone system are diagnosed and treated.
Dr Thomas Upton, Clinical Research Fellow in Automated Sampling at the University of Bristol and lead endocrinologist in the study
