Nov. 02, 2006 - 19:57 MST

ANCIENT MYSTERIES

Some things have puzzled mankind, including the experts from the beginning of time. One of those is why an apparently healthy baby would die in the night for no apparent reason.

They used to call it "crib death" and we had one such thing happen in our family. Those things occasion guilt feelings for much of the family, wondering what they did wrong or if they ignored something they should have done.

There was an article in the November 1 issue of the Rocky Mountain News by Lindsey Tanner of the Associated Press quoted here in full:

BRAIN-STEM DEFECTS MAY BE BEHIND SIDS MYSTERY

CHICAGO -- "In a small study with big implictions, researchers found some of the strongest evidence yet that sudden infant death syndrome -- a medical and sometimes legal mystery once known as crib death -- may be caused by brain-stem abnormalities."

"The finding "takes the mystery away from SIDS," said Marian Willinger, a SIDS researcher at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which funded the study. "It should take the guilt away from any parent who has lost a baby because they always wonder, "What did I do wrong ?" Now, they need to really understand, "My baby had a disease."

"The brain-stem abnormalities involve an imbalance in the way the brain uses the neurotransmitter serotonin. The brain chemical plays a role in regulating mood and is the target for many depression-fighting drugs. But it also influences breathing, body temperature and arousal from sleep."

"These functions are thought to go haywire when susceptible babies are exposed to certain risks, such as sleeping on their bellies, which is a leading contributor to SIDS."

"The researchers studied autopsied brain tissue from 31 SIDS babies and 10 infants who died of other causes. SIDS babies had about double the number of nerve cellls displaying serotonin defects."

"Right now, the defects cannot be detected until after death. The researchers hope their work leads to a diagnostic test that could identify infants at risk and allow parents to take precautions."

"That will probably take at least 10 years, but the study results show that the research appears to be headed in the right direction, said Dr. Hannah Kinney, a co-author and prominent SIDS researcher at Children's Hospital Boston."

"The study was published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association."

"This finding lends credence to the view that SIDS risk may greatly increase when an underlying predisposition combines with an environmental risk -- such as sleeping face down -- at a developmentally sensitive time in early life," said Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the government institute that backed the study."

"Kinney said serotonin defects probably cause at least half of all SIDS cases."

"Other theories for what causes SIDS include infections and mutations that cause heart rhythm abnormalities. But it is possible that serotonin defects are an underlying cause in SIDS cases attributed to some of those defects, said Dr. Debra Ellyn Weese-Mayer. a SIDS researcher at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center."

"While the study involved only a small number of infants, it is a convincing argument for the brain-stem theory, said Weese-Mayer, who was not involved in the research."

"In the United States, a death is pronounced SIDS after an antopsy and death scene investigation. A SIDS diagnosis means no other cause of death can be found in an otherwise healthy infant who dies suddenly."

+++++++++++++++++++++++

And such was the case in the SIDS of my daughter's baby. It was complicated by the fact that daughter had a chance to visit friends overnight and arranged for Heather's sister to take care of the child. Heather at the time was ill or would have been the one to take the baby for the night. So everybody in the family felt guilt for one reason or another. My sister-in-law almost went under from grief and guilt. Heather felt that she should have been healthy and had the baby under her wing. (I am not sure how Heather would have dealt with having the baby and the baby expiring like that). And I too, had a feeling of guilt because it happened to my family (guilt by association maybe ?).

Perhaps this line of research will enable medical science to develop a way of diagnosing serotonin defects in babies pre-autopsy, while the baby is still alive and seemingly healthy, and develop means of treatment to avoid the possiblilty of SIDS.

And perhaps it would be wise for all parents of babies to keep their dear ones from sleeping on their bellies.

Some adults sleep on their bellies, I could never get comfortable that way, always felt like I was smothering. I can sleep in a position near that, but with one arm placed in such a manner that my chest is a bit clear of the bed on one side. Heather can bury her face in the bed and sleep like a top. Difference in people, I guess.

I wonder, is this something that babies grow out of eventually ? Must be so it would appear.

Ten years in the future ? Perhaps our great-grandchildren will never have to fear a SIDS occurring in their children. I pray that it will be so.

I hope that scientific research will solve many more of those ANCIENT MYSTERIES . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Blog