 News
1st November 2006
Cot death linked to brain abnormalities
Scientists believe that brain abnormalities which affect breathing could
increase a baby's risk of cot death.
Researchers from the Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard
Medical School found that babies who died of sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS) had flaws in their brainstem which meant they could not process
the chemical seratonin.
The study looked at tissue from 31 babies who had died from
SIDS with 10 who had died of other causes between 1997 and 2005.
It found that the brainstems of the babies who died from
cot death produced more cells to make and use seratonin but had fewer
receptors which meant they could not use it.
Lead researcher 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 Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths said that
the findings were important but added that they were unlikely to be the
only inherited or non-modifiable risk factor.
A spokesperson for FSID said, "Although the causes
of sudden death in infancy remain unknown, it is generally agreed they
are multi-factorial, and the present paper adds useful information.
"But much more research is needed in order to understand
and, ultimately, prevent these tragedies, which claim about 300 babies'
lives each year in the UK."
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