interesting for nerds and mothers
Low brainstem levels of serotonin, specific enzyme linked to SIDS.
NBC Nightly News (2/2, story 8, 2:15, Williams) reported, "The known risk factors for SIDS include prematurity, being male, over-bundling, maternal smoking, and exposure to second-hand smoke." Now, a new paper appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association "suggests something else is going on in SIDS babies." Harvard scientists, alongside researchers at the Children's Hospital Boston, are pointing to "low levels of serotonin," USA Today (2/3, Szabo) reports.
Normally, "serotonin pathways in the brain...cause a baby who is breathing carbon dioxide to stir and turn its head, allowing the infant to get fresh air," according to Bloomberg News (2/3, Ostrow), but an infant "with low serotonin levels may not be aroused to move." In fact, the study authors found that, "beyond external influences on risk for SIDS...babies who died of SIDS had 26% lower levels of serotonin in the part of the brain believed to be home to the regulatory system, compared with infants in the control group," the Time (2/2, O'Callaghan) "Wellness" blog reported. That revelation, "coupled with the fact that SIDS babies also had lower levels of an enzyme known as TPH2, which plays a role in serotonin production, indicates that serotonin deficiency may be a driving factor for SIDS."
The new work was inspired by a recommendation in place since the mid-1990s, according to the Wall Street Journal (2/3, Dooren). After health officials advised parents to place infants in the supine position on firm bedding, data showed a 50% reduction in SIDS deaths between 1992 and 2003. Since then, however, incidence appears to have reached a plateau.
The study also revealed that "levels of binding to the serotonin receptors were also lower in the SIDS babies," WebMD (2/2, Doheny) reported. Lead investigator Hannah Kinney, MD, said, "It is not going to explain all SIDS deaths." However, the findings "will explain the majority."
The next step "would be to develop a screening tests so" clinicians "can identify someone who might need a monitor or to be more closely watched," HealthDay (2/2, Gordon) reported. Until then, parents are advised "to continue to put their babies to sleep on their back, to avoid soft bedding, to ensure adequate ventilation in the room where the baby sleeps and maybe even add a ceiling fan to the room," or even use a pacifier.
The Los Angeles Times (2/2, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog, Reuters (2/3, Steenhuysen), AFP (2/3), and the UK's Press Association (2/3), and the UK's Telegraph (2/3) also covered the study.
NBC Nightly News (2/2, story 8, 2:15, Williams) reported, "The known risk factors for SIDS include prematurity, being male, over-bundling, maternal smoking, and exposure to second-hand smoke." Now, a new paper appearing in the Journal of the American Medical Association "suggests something else is going on in SIDS babies." Harvard scientists, alongside researchers at the Children's Hospital Boston, are pointing to "low levels of serotonin," USA Today (2/3, Szabo) reports.
Normally, "serotonin pathways in the brain...cause a baby who is breathing carbon dioxide to stir and turn its head, allowing the infant to get fresh air," according to Bloomberg News (2/3, Ostrow), but an infant "with low serotonin levels may not be aroused to move." In fact, the study authors found that, "beyond external influences on risk for SIDS...babies who died of SIDS had 26% lower levels of serotonin in the part of the brain believed to be home to the regulatory system, compared with infants in the control group," the Time (2/2, O'Callaghan) "Wellness" blog reported. That revelation, "coupled with the fact that SIDS babies also had lower levels of an enzyme known as TPH2, which plays a role in serotonin production, indicates that serotonin deficiency may be a driving factor for SIDS."
The new work was inspired by a recommendation in place since the mid-1990s, according to the Wall Street Journal (2/3, Dooren). After health officials advised parents to place infants in the supine position on firm bedding, data showed a 50% reduction in SIDS deaths between 1992 and 2003. Since then, however, incidence appears to have reached a plateau.
The study also revealed that "levels of binding to the serotonin receptors were also lower in the SIDS babies," WebMD (2/2, Doheny) reported. Lead investigator Hannah Kinney, MD, said, "It is not going to explain all SIDS deaths." However, the findings "will explain the majority."
The next step "would be to develop a screening tests so" clinicians "can identify someone who might need a monitor or to be more closely watched," HealthDay (2/2, Gordon) reported. Until then, parents are advised "to continue to put their babies to sleep on their back, to avoid soft bedding, to ensure adequate ventilation in the room where the baby sleeps and maybe even add a ceiling fan to the room," or even use a pacifier.
The Los Angeles Times (2/2, Roan) "Booster Shots" blog, Reuters (2/3, Steenhuysen), AFP (2/3), and the UK's Press Association (2/3), and the UK's Telegraph (2/3) also covered the study.