The Development of Circadian Rhythms in Human Infants

8 Results
DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPRESSION OF PERIPHERAL
CLOCK GENES IN HUMAN INFANTS
8.1 Analysis of buccal swabs in infants
This chapter describes the results from the initial analysis of peripheral gene data
obtained from the buccal swabs collected by the participant mothers from their
infants. Six hourly swabs were taken on two consecutive days (over 48 hours) on a
weekly basis throughout the period of the study. The samples were taken
concurrently with sleep and deep core body temperature measurements as well as
collection of urine for melatonin estimation and cortisol, using a standard monitoring
schedule. Buccal cell sampling was continued for four weeks after and including the
week a mature temperature rhythm was noted in the infant in most cases.
Of the thirty five infants, one family had no access to refrigeration and freezer
facilities within the home setting, so no samples were able to be taken and safely
stored. One mother opted out of buccal swab collection due to personal preference. In
total the remaining thirty three infants had buccal swabs collected for peripheral gene
estimation. Of these, one infant had all samples excluded due to illegible labelling.
The remaining ten infants had insufficient samples or incomplete data sets and were
therefore excluded. Samples for any week of measurement had to include a minimum
of 4 consecutive six hourly samples to be included in the analysis.
Twenty two infants had a total of five hundred and ninety nine samples processed,
which are reported on in this results section.
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