Sudden Infant Death Tied to Brain Chemical

It is called crib death or SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Parents put a seemingly healthy infant to sleep and return to find the baby gas stopped breathing. The causes remain a mystery, but new research suggests a chemical imbalance in babies’ brains may provide a clue.
Dr. Hanna Kinney of Children’s Hospital in Boston says, “We found that the babies who died of SIDS had abnormalities in serotonin in regions of the brain stem that control breathing and heart rate and blood pressure during sleep.” She explains that when a baby is put face down in a bed, it begins to re-breathe carbon dioxide, which is toxic. And a normal baby could respond to that challenge, lift its head up, turn its head and arouse or wake up, but baby who has a defect in those brain stem circuits that use serotonin can’t do that when challenged and they go on to die. At present, doctors cannot measure the amount of serotonin in a living baby’s brain. But researchers hope that one day they will be able to do that though a simple blood test, and prevent more deaths.

I was afraid when I see this report. I have a nephew, who is one year old. He got swain flue last month, but now he recover his health. I felt that we, adult must to be careful for children’s health. I hope doctors like Dr. Kinney to invent the way of save children.