2023-05-25 21:00:00
The causes of sudden infant death syndrome, which affects between 250 and 350 babies in France each year, have so far been difficult to clearly identify. Researchers may have made a breakthrough in the field.
This is one of the fears most often mentioned by future parents. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome strikes apparently healthy infants under the age of one who die suddenly, usually in their sleep.
If several recommendations make it possible to limit the risks, many children succumb each year. Researchers may have found a link between this pathology and a cerebral anomaly which might help anticipate tragedies.
A defective brain receptor?
These are Oxford University researchers who have studied the phenomenon of sudden infant death syndrome. By studying the brains of 70 children who died of this syndrome between 2004 and 2011, they identified a common characteristic.
Indeed, they noticed that a receptor, 5-HT2A/C, which is linked to serotonin, is altered in victims of sudden infant death syndrome.
Responsible for waking up in the event of a lack of oxygenation
This receptor plays an extremely important role since it intervenes in the waking mechanism if a lack of oxygenation of the brain is detected during sleep. The anomaly detected in the brain of infants would explain why sudden death syndrome generally intervenes in sleep.
Continue the search
The researchers specify that sudden death, in addition to the risk factors linked to the position in which the baby sleeps, this alteration of 5 – HT2A/C might make the child more vulnerable in the event of respiratory problems in his sleep.
For the moment, the researchers specify that their discovery is far from constituting a new way of diagnosing with certainty the possibility of sudden infant death syndrome. They will therefore continue to conduct their research in order to confirm their hypothesis. Also, there is currently no way to identify this biological anomaly in children. It is therefore essential to follow the recommendations in order to limit the risk.
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