Brain Stem Defect Behind Infant Deaths?

New Study Said To 'Take The Mystery Away' From Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

(CBS/AP)  In a small study with big implications, 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.

When a baby's breathing is blocked - say by a stuffed animal or sleeping face down - the brain stem normally adjusts by sending a message to wake the baby or stimulate breathing, CBS News medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook reports. SIDS babies may have abnormal wiring that short circuits this important alarm system.

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 cells 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 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.

"If there is a defect in the alarm system, the defense system, then the baby doesn't wake up," Kinney tells CBS News. "We think that the serotonin system is such a defense system."

The study was published in Wednesday'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.

SIDS kills more than 2,000 U.S. infants each year and is the leading cause of death in U.S. babies after the newborn period. Rates are similar in other Western nations, but SIDS definitions vary elsewhere, so global rates are unclear, Kinney said.

In the United States, a death is pronounced SIDS after an autopsy and death scene investigation. A SIDS diagnosis means no other cause of death can be found in an otherwise healthy infant who dies suddenly. Over the years, some cases that were written off as SIDS proved to be homicides, sometimes committed by mothers who smothered their babies.

Boys are about twice as likely as girls to suffer SIDS, and serotonin defects were more prevalent in boys in the study.

Also, 28 of the babies studied, or 90 percent, experienced an environmental risk around the time of death, including respiratory infections, stomach-sleeping and sleeping in a bed or couch.

The risk of SIDS increases greatly when babies sleep on their stomachs. A nationwide campaign urging parents to place babies to sleep on their backs, launched over a decade ago, has helped reduce SIDS rates. Still, two-thirds of the SIDS babies in Kinney's study were sleeping on their stomachs or sides when they died.

[bwrdc]

It's interesting that the AMA is finally catching up with chiropractic in the area of SIDS research, and turning their focus to the brainstem and it's proper function as the core of this terrible tragedy.

What puzzles me, is that chiropractic has been studying this phenomenon for decades, and even provides a remedy for it. But for some unknown reason, it's never appreciated or recognized by the AMA.

A similar situation exists with the brainstem/fibromyalgia connection. Medical research has proven that "brainstem encroachment" exists in all of these patients. Yet they remain clueless to relieving that encroachment and they refuse credit for workable solutions such as chiropractic.

Part of the reason for this blatant ignorance at the cost of human life, is that they must be aware of the fact that brainstem hematomas and spinal cord blood, have been found on autopsy of SIDS infants. Thus pointing to a traumatic injury at birth, labeling it an iatrogenic, or doctor induced accident, and NOT a disease process as implied.

With any quest for the truth, we must accept the facts of the matter, and support any and ALL remedial applications that lead us towards our intended outcome, REGARDLESS of the gain or loss of our vested interests. In the case of SIDS, the delivery doctor and the procedures involving panic, haste and the overabundance of cervical traction upon the delicate newborn spine must be reviewed first!

Sincerely,
Barrett W. Ripley, DC
High Bridge, New Jersey

[justpepsi69-2009]

When My son was a baby 17 years ago I was told to have him sleep on his back. One evening I woke up in the middle of the night and he was chocking on his own saliva. He was not sice. It was so scary I never let him sleep on his back again. Can you explane that to your viewers?? I can see that happening to many babies if they are on there backs. I think my son is alive today because he slept on his stomach. Thank You Tonja

[bluestardad]

HEY MEDICAL COMMUNITY, CURE ANYTHING THEN GET BACK TO ME!

[marcelde]

When a president%u2019s breathing is blocked - say by a stuffed animal or sleeping face down - the brain stem normally adjusts by sending a message to wake the president or stimulate thinking. Reports that some presidents may have abnormal wiring that short circuits this important thinking system have been corroborated in the offal ***.

The researchers hope their work leads to a diagnostic test that could identify presidents at risk and allow voters to take precautions.

That will probably take at least 5 days,

"If there is a defect in the thinking system, then the president doesn't wake up, even when reading to kids!

While the study involved only a small brained president,it is a convincing argument for
voting democratic in this next election.

In the United States, boy presidents are about twice as likely as girls to suffer.

A nationwide campaign urges voters to place presidents out of *** and not to let them sleep on their offal office decks.

[marcelde]

When a president%u2019s breathing is blocked - say by a stuffed animal or sleeping face down - the brain stem normally adjusts by sending a message to wake the president or stimulate thinking. Reports that some presidents may have abnormal wiring that short circuits this important thinking system have been corroborated in the offal ***.

The researchers hope their work leads to a diagnostic test that could identify presidents at risk and allow voters to take precautions.

That will probably take at least 5 days,

"If there is a defect in the thinking system, then the president doesn't wake up, even when reading to kids!

While the study involved only a small brained president,it is a convincing argument for
voting democratic in this next election.

In the United States, boy presidents are about twice as likely as girls to suffer.

A nationwide campaign urges voters to place presidents out of *** and not to let them sleep on their offal office decks.