A new breakthrough test offering a potentially more convenient and less invasive way to diagnose adrenal insufficiency - a decrease in cortisol production - is to be pioneered in a clinical trial at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Dr Miguel De Bono, consultant endocrinologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals and Professor Richard Ross, professor of endocrinology at the University of Sheffield, have been awarded £205,000 from the National Institute for Health Research’s prestigious Research for Patient Benefit programme to develop the test with a view to it being available on the NHS within the next three years.
The test offers a simpler and less invasive way to detect adrenal insufficiency by measuring levels of cortisol in saliva as opposed to in the blood. The research being undertaken could lead to the development of an everyday test that can be performed at home by patients and used by all doctors when they suspect adrenal insufficiency. This has the potential to save lives by earlier diagnosis as well as providing a more cost effective test for the NHS.
Adrenal insufficiency occurs when the body is no longer able to make cortisol – a major hormone that helps the body overcome stress, infections and regulates body sugars, proteins and fats. At the moment adrenal insufficiency is diagnosed through a complex blood test which has to be undertaken in a hospital setting.
During the study the researchers will look to establish what levels of cortisol insufficiency need to be present in saliva to give a definitive diagnosis of the condition. They will do this by comparing the saliva test with the blood tests, with patients having the waking salivary cortisol at home and then travelling to hospital immediately afterwards to get the blood tests.
The researchers estimate that the test could dramatically reduce the number of complex investigations for adrenal insufficiency in England from approximately 92,000 per year to just 23, 000 per year.
Dr Miguel De Bono said: “Through this research we hope to provide a patient-friendly and more convenient, salivary test to reduce and replace the use of the complex tests for the majority of patients. Adrenal insufficiency may be difficult to diagnose, particularly as symptoms are non-specific, so as well as providing a more patient-friendly testing option, patients living with this potentially devastating condition will receive quicker diagnosis whilst also helping the NHS to save money because the new test is less costly."
Professor Richard Ross, head of the academic unit of diabetes, endocrinology and metabolism & academic lead for Innovation at the University of Sheffield, said: “We have worked with Professor Rob Harrison from the University of Sheffield’s Faculty of Engineering to develop the mathematical model showing what levels of cortisol in saliva we should expect. We hope that this important work will translate our research to date into an everyday test that can be performed at home by patients and used by all doctors when they suspect adrenal insufficiency. This has the potential to save lives from early diagnosis as well as providing a more cost effective test for the NHS.”
The National Institute for Health Research’s Research for Patient Benefit programme aims to fund research projects in health and social care to improve, expand and strengthen the way that healthcare is delivered for patients, the public and the NHS.
The study will open for recruitment in October 2019, and will involve 200 patients who are referred for an assessment for adrenal insufficiency at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital.
Photo: Professor Richard Ross and Dr Miguel De Bono outside the Royal Hallamshire Hospital with the research team
