Serum Adropin as an Indicator of Endothelial Dysfunction and Disease Severity in Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Obese Patients

September 15, 2026 updated by: Esraa Mohamed Yusuf, Aswan University

1. Objectives (Aim): To evaluate the role of serum adropin as a potential biomarker of endothelial dysfunction in OSA

  1. Compare serum adropin levels between Obese patients with and without OSA.
  2. Correlate serum adropin with OSA severity indices including the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) and Oxygen Desaturation Index (ODI) and cardiovascular complications.
  3. Assess the relationship between serum adropin and endothelial dysfunction markers (endothelin-1).
  4. Evaluate adropin's predictive ability for endothelial impairment among OSA patients.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

1. Background and Rationale ( Introduction): Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a common sleep-related breathing disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of partial or complete upper airway obstruction during sleep, resulting in intermittent hypoxia, sleep fragmentation, and increased sympathetic nervous system activity. These pathophysiological disturbances promote oxidative stress and systemic inflammation, which contribute to vascular injury and increase cardiovascular risk in patients with OSA (Li et al., 2020). Intermittent hypoxia has been shown to induce endothelial oxidative stress and inflammatory signaling in a dose-dependent manner, with greater severity of OSA being associated with more pronounced vascular dysfunction (Ryan et al., 2021).

Endothelial dysfunction is considered a key early mechanism linking OSA to cardiovascular disease. Intermittent hypoxia impairs endothelial homeostasis mainly through reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, increased endothelin-1 activity, and activation of pro-inflammatory pathways, leading to abnormal vascular tone and progression of atherosclerosis and hypertension (Javaheri and Barbe, 2020). Importantly, endothelial dysfunction may precede overt cardiovascular disease, highlighting its value as an early therapeutic target in OSA patients.

Identifying early biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction in OSA is therefore of major clinical importance for risk stratification and prevention of cardiovascular complications. Such biomarkers may also help in monitoring disease severity and evaluating response to therapeutic interventions, including continuous positive airway pressure therapy (Ryan et al., 2021).

Adropin is a peptide hormone encoded by the ENHO gene and is involved in energy homeostasis, lipid metabolism, and endothelial function. It enhances endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity and NO production, exerting protective effects on the vascular endothelium. Experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated that reduced circulating adropin levels are associated with endothelial dysfunction, insulin resistance, and increased cardiovascular risk (Altamimi et al., 2021).

Recent studies have demonstrated significantly lower serum adropin levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea compared to healthy controls, with negative correlations between adropin levels and apnea-hypopnea index severity, as well as positive associations with endothelial function markers (Yosaee et al., 2020; Aşkın et al., 2022). Given the central role of endothelial dysfunction in OSA-related cardiovascular morbidity and the vasoprotective properties of adropin, evaluating serum adropin levels may represent a simple and reliable marker of endothelial dysfunction in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
80

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

20 years to 75 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study will include adult obese participants who are referred to the Sleep Medicine/Chest outpatient clinic with suspected obstructive sleep apnea. Participants will undergo clinical assessment and overnight polysomnography (PSG) to confirm the diagnosis of OSA and determine its severity according to the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI).

Participants will be categorized into appropriate study groups according to the presence and severity of OSA. A suitable comparison group of obese participants without OSA may also be included, according to the study design.

The study population will include both males and females who meet the predefined inclusion criteria and provide informed consent to participate in the study

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 1- Adults aged 20-75 years. 2-obese Patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) confirmed by polysomnography.

    3- Patients willing to provide written informed consent. 4- Patients not currently on medications affecting endothelial function (e.g., statins, ACE inhibitors) or able to temporarily withhold under medical supervision.

    5- Ability to comply with study procedures and follow-up

Exclusion Criteria:

  • 1-Pregnant females 2-Thyroid disorders 3-Autoimmune diseases 4-chronic liver disease 5-chronic kidney disease 6-drugs as statin,glucocorticoids and antidepressant

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: CASE_CONTROL
  • Time Perspectives: RETROSPECTIVE

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Serum adropin levels (measured by ELISA)
Time Frame: 12 months
  • Serum adropin levels (measured by ELISA)
  • Association between serum adropin and endothelial function (Endothelin -1).
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Aswan University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
September 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 15, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 15, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 21, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 15, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Serum Adropin and OSA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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