The association between Long QT syndrome (LQTS) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) remains highly topical and even polarizing. Because the landmark Italian study of the QT interval and SIDS triggered extensive controversy, there has been a substantial and commendable effort to establish LQTS as one of the true causes of SIDS. The motivation underlying this effort is based on the fact that ...

To investigate the possible role of the endogenous opioid system in the pathogenesis of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), we measured met-enkephalin immunoreactivity by radioimmunoassay in brain, lung, and adrenal glands of SIDS victims and of infants (controls) dying of nonneurologic causes. Met-enkephalin was stable in brain tissue up to 24 hours after death. On inspection, met-enkepha...

BACKGROUND Unexplained antepartum stillbirth and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are major contributors to perinatal and infant mortality in the western world. A relation between them has been suggested. As an equivalent of SIDS, only cases validated by post mortem examination are diagnosed as sudden intrauterine unexplained death (SIUD). OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that SIDS and SIU...

OBJECTIVES This study analyzed the relationship between prenatal maternal smoking and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and examined the cost-effectiveness of smoking cessation interventions. METHODS All recorded US singleton SIDS deaths from the 1995 birth cohort with birthweight exceeding 500 g were investigated. Infants with available maternal smoking data were matched with controls who ...

The precise mechanisms for SIDS, or “crib death,” are not known, although multiple hypotheses have been proposed over the years, including abnormal brainstem respiratory control of arousal, dysautonomia, and malignant cardiac bradyarrhythmias or tachyarrhythmias.2–4 Genetic, developmental, and environmental risk factors for SIDS have been identified, such as premature birth, multiple gestations...

Dear Editor, The sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)–critical diaphragm failure (CDF) hypothesis (1,2) continues to attract attention 5 years after the publication of the original article in this journal, and several colleagues have contributed perspectives and insights to the hypothesis (3–6). The basic premise of the SIDS-CDF hypothesis is that the diaphragm is a vital organ that must continu...

CONTEXT The serotonergic (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) neurons in the medulla oblongata project extensively to autonomic and respiratory nuclei in the brainstem and spinal cord and help regulate homeostatic function. Previously, abnormalities in 5-HT receptor binding in the medullae of infants dying from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) were identified, suggesting that medullary 5-HT dysfunct...

Genetic studies in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) have been motivated by clinical, epidemiological, and/or neuropathological observations in SIDS victims, with subsequent pursuit of candidate genes in five categories: (1) genes for ion channel proteins based on electrocardiographic evidence of prolonged QT intervals in SIDS victims, (2) gene for serotonin transporter based on decreased ser...

BACKGROUND The pathomechanism of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has not been clarified yet. The high rate of early progenitor cells in carotid body has been reported as a pathognomic feature for SIDS. AIM AND STUDY DESIGN: The morphometric analysis was done by NIKON Eclipse microscope with a morphometric program Lucia G. SUBJECTS This study was designed to investigate the structure and d...

OBJECTIVE Vaccination does not cause sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). However, SIDS peaks at 2 months of age, when vaccination encounters are frequent. There are no published estimates using population data on age of death and immunization coverage to indicate to practitioners how often coincident vaccination may occur by chance. This study aimed to determine the probability that an Austral...