Low level of brain chemical linked to babies' cot deaths

Published on Tuesday 2 February 2010 21:57

COT-DEATH babies lack a key brain chemical that regulates breathing, heart rate and sleep, according to new research.

Scientists have discovered abnormal amounts of serotonin in brain samples taken from 35 children who died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

Levels of the chemical were 26 per cent lower in the infants than in babies who died unexpectedly for other reasons.

Dr Hannah Kinney who led the research said:

"The baby looks normal during the day; there's nothing that would tell you that baby is going to die of SIDS that night.

"There's something about sleep that unmasks the defect, which we believe is in serotonin circuits: the baby experiences some kind of stress during sleep, such as re-breathing carbon dioxide in the face-down position or increased temperature, that cannot be compensated for by the defective brainstem circuits, and the baby then goes on to die."