|
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is one of the leading causes of death among infants one month through one year of age in the United States. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) defines SIDS as the sudden death of an infant under one year of age which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene and review of the clinical history. SIDS is therefore a diagnosis of exclusion, affixed only once all known and possible causes of death have been ruled out.
While there are still no adequate medical explanations for SIDS deaths, most researchers now believe that babies who die of SIDS are born with one or more conditions that make them especially vulnerable to stresses (both internal and external) that occur in the normal life of an infant. Currently these problems, whether biochemical, anatomical or developmental, remain a mystery. It is probable that SIDS, like many other physical disorders, will eventually prove to be caused by a combination of factors.
Long QT Syndrome and SIDS
Long QT Syndrome (LQTS) is an uncommon hereditary disorder characterized by abnormal electrical activity in the heart. Individuals with LQTS are more likely to experience fainting spells or sudden cardiac death from serious arrhythmias. LQTS affects primarily children and young adult. Dr. Michael Ackerman of the Mayo Clinic’s Sudden Death Genomics Lab and Long QT Syndrome Clinic found that 3 percent of the infants he studied had genetic mutations indicating Long QT Syndrome. “All we have been able to give is theories, but now we can provide direct proof for a small but important percentage of SIDS deaths,” says Dr. Ackerman, who serves on the C.A.R.E. Scientific Advisory Board. In the study, Dr. Ackerman and his colleagues performed a genetic autopsy on 59 white infants, extracting DNA from frozen heart tissue and studied the five genes linked to LQTS. They found that approximately 5 percent of the infants in the study had genetic anomalies in those genes, as compared to 0 percent of the racially matched control group of 200 infants.
Scientific breakthroughs - including the recent discoveries of genes that cause LQTS - may soon lead to better diagnostic methods, therapies and ultimately a cure.
More information on LQTS and other Cardiac arrhythmias is available from the C.A.R.E. Foundation
(www.longQT.org) |
SIDS claims the lives of almost 3,000 infants in the U.S. each year - that's nearly 9 babies every day – 1 in every 1,000 infants born in the U.S.
SIDS deaths occur unexpectedly and quickly to apparently healthy infants, usually during periods of sleep.
Most SIDS victims are between two and four months of age.
SIDS occurs in families of all races and socioeconomic levels.
SIDS can not be predicted or prevented.
Suffocation, choking, immunizations or vaccinations do NOT cause SIDS. It is not contagious, nor is it a result of neglected illness or child abuse.
SIDS can, and does, claim any baby, in spite of parents doing everything right.
|
