Brainstem abnormalities found in 'SIDS' infants, in both safe and unsafe sleep environments

Investigators at Boston Children's Hospital report that infants dying suddenly and unexpectedly, in both safe and unsafe sleep environments, have underlying brainstem abnormalities and are not all normal prior to death.


The investigators, led by Hannah Kinney, MD, a neuropathologist at Boston Children's, have shown over the past two decades that infants who die suddenly, unexpectedly and without explanation—whose deaths are generally attributed to (SIDS)—have differences in brainstem chemistry that set them apart from infants dying of other causes.


At the same time, epidemiologic studies have shown that infants dying suddenly and unexpectedly are often found in unsafe sleep environments, such as sleeping face down with their face in the pillow, or sleeping with another person in the bed.

In the new study, Kinney and colleagues asked if these infants are truly normal. They reexamined their data, reviewing the cases of 71 infants who died suddenly and unexpectedly, were autopsied at the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office from 1997 to 2008, and had brainstem samples available for analysis. The researchers grouped the infants according to sleep circumstances—those considered safe (asphyxia not likely) or unsafe (asphyxia likely) based upon death-scene investigation reports.


Brainstem neurochemical abnormalities—involving serotonin, serotonin receptors, GABA receptors and 14-3-3 (a protein that regulates serotonin)—were found in both group A and group B. Neurochemical measures didn't differ significantly between the two groups, but each group differed significantly from the controls.




"Safe sleep practices absolutely remain important, so these are not put in a potentially asphyxiating situation that they cannot respond to," she adds.

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