Jan. 10, 2009 Researchers at Oregon Health & Science
University's School of Dentistry have discovered that the nerve
cells controlling heart rate and blood pressure synthesize a
molecule known to be critically important for proper nervous
system growth. The finding could someday play a significant role
in the prevention of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and
high blood pressure. According to the National Institutes of
Health, SIDS is the leading cause of death in children between 1
month and 1 year of age. About one in three adults in the United
States has high blood pressure. The new discovery was published
in a January issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry (vol. 108,
pp. 450-464) and released online December 1, 2008. "Our
discovery sheds light on how the nerve supply to the
cardiovascular system is established during development," said
Agnieszka Balkowiec, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator, OHSU
School of Dentistry assistant professor of integrative
biosciences and OHSU School of Medicine adjunct ass