Genetic disorder may explain cot deaths

SCIENTISTS in the US say they have found the strongest evidence yet that cot death is caused partly by a genetic disorder, which may one day be treatable.

A new study funded by the American government’s medical research agency found that babies who died mysteriously in their sleep had abnormalities in the part of the brain that controls breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and arousal.

The problems appeared to affect the brainstem’s ability to use and recycle serotonin, impairing an infant’s ability to sense high amounts of carbon dioxide and low oxygen levels and prevent itself from asphyxiating, the team said.

That meant they were particularly at risk in situations where they began breathing in their own recycled breath, such as when they are sleeping face-down or have their faces covered by bedding.

A large body of research has already shown that putting a baby to sleep on its stomach greatly increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS.

“These findings provide evidence that SIDS is not a mystery but a disorder that we can investigate with scientific methods, and some day, may be able to identify and treat,” senior author Hannah Kinney, of the Boston Children’s Hospital, said of the new study.

“Our goal is to find a way – a diagnostic test – to identify these defects in living infants and then find a way to correct these defects by drugs or other means as the infant passes through the first six months of life, the period of greatest risk for SIDS.”

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) said the new findings were important, but were unlikely to represent the only inherited risk factor for SIDS.

FSID’s scientific advisor, Professor George Haycock, said: “Although the causes of sudden death in infancy remain unknown, it is generally agreed they are multi-factorial, and the present paper adds useful information.

“But much more research is needed in order to understand and, ultimately, prevent these tragedies.”