SIDS linked to low levels of serotonin

[Guest guest]

Again, no one acknowledged what was causing the decrease of serotonin.  All

these symptoms look so familar.   Besides recommending having the infant sleep

on there back but also to never use used mattresses and use recommended mattress

covers.  So the the babys are not exposed to possible mold growth in the crib

mattress. 

 

 

SIDS linked to low levels of serotonin 

NIH-funded study finds abnormalities in brain region that regulates breathing,

sleep  

http://www.eurekale rt.org/pub_ releases/ 2010-02/nioc- slt012910. phpa> & nbsp; 

 

 

The brains of infants who die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) produce low

levels of serotonin, a brain chemical that conveys messages between cells and

plays a vital role in regulating breathing, heart rate, and sleep, reported

researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

 

SIDS is the death of an infant before his or her first birthday that cannot be

explained after a complete autopsy, an investigation of the scene and

circumstances of the death, and a review of the medical history of the infant

and of his or her family. According to the National Center for Health

Statistics, SIDS is the third leading cause of infant death, claiming more than

2,300 lives in 2006.

 

The researchers theorize that this newly discovered serotonin abnormality may

reduce infants' capacity to respond to breathing challenges, such as low oxygen

levels or high levels of carbon dioxide. These high levels may result from

re-breathing exhaled carbon dioxide that accumulates in bedding while sleeping

face down. The findings appear in the Feb. 3 issue of The Journal of the

American Medical Association.

 

" We have known for many years that placing infants to sleep on their backs is

the single most effective way to reduce the risk of SIDS, " said Alan E.

Guttmacher, M.D., acting director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National

Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the NIH institute that

funded the research. " The current findings provide important clues to the

biological basis of SIDS and may ultimately lead to ways to identify infants

most at risk as well as additional strategies for reducing the risk of SIDS for

all infants. "

 

NICHD's Back to Sleep campaign urges parents and caregivers to place infants to

sleep on their backs. Following the campaign's launch in 1994, the rate of SIDS

dropped by more than 50 percent. Widespread adoption of back sleeping appears to

have reduced the occurrence of SIDS, but has not eliminated it.

 

For this study, senior author Hannah C. Kinney, M.D., of Harvard Medical School

and Children's Hospital Boston, and her colleagues examined small samples of

tissue from the medulla, a region at the base of the brain that regulates basic

functions such as body temperature, breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate.

The researchers analyzed brain tissue from infants who died from SIDS and

controls who died of other causes. Included in the analysis were 35 infants who

died of SIDS, 5 infants who died unexpectedly of other causes, and 5 infants who

were hospitalized and died for reasons associated with a lack of oxygen.

 

The researchers found that serotonin levels were 26 percent lower in tissue from

infants who died of SIDS than in tissue from the group of infants who had

otherwise died unexpectedly. Measurements of tryptophan hydroxylase, an enzyme

needed to make serotonin, also were 22 percent lower.

 

In earlier work comparing SIDS cases with other infant deaths, Kinney and her

coauthors showed that the brains of infants who died of SIDS had higher

concentrations of cells that use serotonin in the medulla oblongata, a region of

the brain stem. For the current study, the researchers set out to see if this

meant the SIDS infants' brains in fact had altered levels of the brain chemical.

 

This abnormality appears to fit into the triple-risk model of SIDS, which holds

that SIDS occurs only when three elements come together: an infant with an

underlying vulnerability, a critical period of development, and an external

stressor. The researchers speculate in this case that the low serotonin level

would cause the underlying vulnerability. The first year of life is the critical

period of development for stabilizing vital functions such as breathing. The

final element of the model, sleeping face down, might provide the external

stressor.

 

" Our research suggests that sleep unmasks the brain defect, " Dr. Kinney said.

" When the infant is breathing in the face-down position, he or she may not get

enough oxygen. An infant with a normal brainstem would turn his or her head and

wake up in response. But a baby with an intrinsic abnormality is unable to

respond to the stressor. "

 

" It's no one single factor but a culmination of abnormalities that result in the

death, " Dr. Kinney said.

 

In fact, in 88 percent of the SIDS cases they examined, the researchers found

two or more risk factors, such as the infant's sleep position, an illness, or

exposure to cigarette smoke.

 

Kinney hopes these findings will one day lead to a test that measures infants'

serotonin levels in the blood or other tissues that reflect brain serotonin

levels. Such a test might make it possible to identify those at the highest risk

for SIDS so that additional steps could be taken to protect them. In the near

term, the findings will provide the basis for the development of animal models

with serotonin deficiencies, to mimic what occurs in SIDS in human beings.

 

###

Information on reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is available on

the NICHD Web site.

The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal,

child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and

medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute's Web site at

http://www.nichd. nih.gov/.

 

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