Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Linked To Brain Abnormality

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) could be caused by abnormalities of nerve cells in the medulla oblongata, the lowest part of the brainstem, say scientists from the Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, USA. These nerve cells produce and utilize serotonin, a brain chemical that transmits messages between nerve cells. (The nerve cells are called 'serotonergic (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) neurons')

You can read about this study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

This abnormality could undermine a baby's ability to control breathing, arousal and some other reflex actions. The researchers said that babies with this abnormality who are placed face-down may find it harder to automatically (in a reflex action) wake up and turn their heads when they experience breathing difficulties.

Study author, Dr. Hannah Kinney, said "These findings provide evidence that SIDS is not a mystery but a disorder that we can investigate with scientific methods, and some day, may be able to identify and treat."

The scientists looked at the autopsies of 31 babies who had died from SIDS, plus another 10 who had not died from SIDS. Abnormalities in the nerve cells of the medulla oblongata were much more common among the infants who died from SIDS, compared to the other ten who died from other causes.

Serotonin regulates breathing, sensitivity to carbon dioxide, temperature and blood pressure, say the scientists. When a baby is placed face down, or bedding is covering his/her face, he/she is breathing back in more carbon dioxide. A baby without this abnormality would automatically wake up and turn his/her head after a while, in order to be able to breathe in more oxygen and less carbon dioxide. Babies with the abnormality might not wake up and turn their heads - they would continue breathing in toxic amounts of carbon dioxide.

In 1994 parents in the USA were advised not to place their babies face down, when putting them to sleep - resulting in a significant fall in the annual total of SIDS. Even so, SIDS is still the main killer of babies during their first months in the USA.

The scientists believe this study could eventually lead to tests that could detect infants at risk, and perhaps protect them with targeted medications.

(SIDS = Cot Death = Crib Death)

"Multiple Serotonergic Brainstem Abnormalities in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome"
David S. Paterson, PhD; Felicia L. Trachtenberg, PhD; Eric G. Thompson, MS; Richard A. Belliveau, BA; Alan H. Beggs, PhD; Ryan Darnall, BA; Amy E. Chadwick, BA; Henry F. Krous, MD; Hannah C. Kinney, MD
JAMA. 2006;296:2124-2132.
Click here to view abstract online

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
(责任编辑：泉水)

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Linked To Brain Abnormality