New SIDS research suggests line to serotonin Sudden infant death
syndrome (SIDS) can be a devastating blow to new parents.
Seemingly out of nowhere an infant can lose his or her life.
Although SIDS research is ongoing, recent research suggests a
link between SIDS and serotonin deficiency. SIDSremains the
leading cause of death for children age one month to one year.
Although the rate of fatalities has decreased over the last two
decades, no doubt because of increased awareness, there are
still some babies who perish despite parents doing everything
right in the infant's environment. This could leave people to
believe there might be a biological factor at play as well.
Recently, a team led by a Children's Hospital Boston
neuropathologist pinpointed a defect in the brain that could be
responsible for some cases of SIDS. The findings were published
in the Journal of the American Medical Association in early
2010. The team studied the brainstems of 41 children who had
died from SIDS; the brainstems of seven child