Few things are more terrifying to a new parent than the prospect that their child could be taken from them without warning. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, causes the death of almost 3,000 every year. Scientists at The University of Chicago have published findings which they believe can lead to understanding and finally eliminating this killer that strikes without any warning.

Doctors have suspected that breathing issues are a direct cause of SIDS. The researches from Chicago isolated the Neurons in the brain that are responsible for gasping, and act that in infants reset breathing patterns. The same group of researchers published a paper previously that isolated the part of the brainstem responsible for normal breathing rhythm, sighing and gasping.

The doctors feel that their increased understanding of this areas of the brain can help them work towards reducing or eliminating SIDS. Pacemaker neurons are those that regulate the body’s rhythms’ and the group which has been isolated by the research are part of a much smaller group which is calcium driven as opposed to sodium driven. SIDS research in the past had proven that babies stricken had decreased serotonin levels. Since serotonin can regulate the sodium channel neurons they feel that they are on a path that can prove successful

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Sudden Infant Death Syndrome »

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