Posted on 02/03/2010 4:05:17 PM PST by freespirited
A new study suggests that sudden infant death syndrome is caused by insufficient levels of a brain chemical that helps control breathing during sleep, HealthDay reports. Researchers looked at levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter, and the enzyme trytophan hydroxylase, which makes serotonin, in 35 babies who died of SIDS. They found that serotonin levels were 26 percent lower and enzyme levels were 22 percent lower in babies who died of SIDS than in another group of babies who died of other causes. The author of the study, Hannah Kinney of Children's Hospital Boston, says that the research confirms SIDS is a biological problem that, for now, cannot be recognized in advance, HealthDay reports. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
(Excerpt) Read more at usnews.com ...
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/303/5/430?home
Hannah Kinney is a great researcher who helped me and my then wife after the the death of our daughter from SIDS. She must have been disappointed to discover there is no way to predict SIDS.
Maybe supplements for the precursors to serotonin could be given to children.
Was your baby daughter a preemie?
I can only try to imagine the heartbreak. My sincere condolences for your tragic loss.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.