2023/06/06

Forensic Magazine June 5, 2023: Study: Sudden Infant Death Syndrome may have Biologic Cause

Sudden infant death syndrome is a case where the death of an apparently healthy infant before their first birthday remains unexplained even after thorough investigation. Death generally seems to occur when infants are sleeping. While rare, it is the leading post-neonatal infant death in the United States today, occurring in 103 out of 100,000 live births a year. Despite the initial success of national public health campaigns promoting safe sleep environments and healthier sleep positions in infants in the 1990s in the United States, rates of cases have remained the same over the last three decades.

Researchers collected tissue from the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office related to infant deaths between 2004 and 2011. They examined the brain stems of 70 infants who died during the period and tested them for consistent abnormalities.

They found that the serotonin 2A/C receptor is altered in sudden infant death cases compared to control cases of infant deaths. Previous research in rodents has shown that 2A/C receptor signaling contributes to arousal and autoresuscitation, protecting brain oxygen status during sleep. This new research supports the idea that a biological abnormality in some infants makes them vulnerable to death under certain circumstances. more