| Finding the Cause of Sudden Infant Death
Finding a cause for any disease is a long and difficult trial-and-error process. This is especially true of SIDS, where the baby seemed healthy and there are no visible warning signs. Since 1963, Government and private researchers have been probing, studying, and, sometimes, discarding theories about what causes SIDS and continuing to search for ways to prevent such deaths. These scientists study family background as well as the prenatal and birth history; diet; record of allergies, immunizations, or illnesses; behavior and personality; sleeping habits and positions; and the effects of environment on infant health.
In their study of SIDS victims and normal infants, scientists are trying to identify differences in the heart and lung, nervous, and  immune functions of healthy babies and compare those
same functions in SIDS babies to determine what, if anything, makes SIDS babies different. By analyzing information from normal, premature, or ill infants and comparing it to information about babies who died of SIDS, researchers are attempting to detect the statistical patterns and trends (called epidemiology) of SIDS.
In addition to reviewing information from postmortem examinations, scientists are also studying conditions such as infant apnea (temporary stoppage of breathing) and apparent life-threatening event (ALTE) and their relationship (if any) to SIDS. ALTE is characterized by a combination of apnea, change in skin color, obvious change in muscle tone (usually
limpness), or choking or gagging. In the past, ALTE was sometimes referred to as "near-miss SIDS" or "aborted crib death." These terms are no longer used because scientists still differ in their opinions about the relationship of ALTE to SIDS.
Researchers also engage in extensive biomedical research (studies of human infants and of animals whose early development is similar to that of humans).Some of this research is focused on what is termed fetal predisposition - some condition (or conditions) that makes the fetus unable to overcome the normal internal and external stresses that occur in the intrauterine development of every baby. Other scientists continue to study babies' sleep
patterns, how infants awaken themselves, how they continue breathing while they sleep, and other aspects of sleep that may help them understand the relationship of sleeping and SIDS.
A great deal of current SIDS research is centered on the nervous system of SIDS infants. Some scientists think that SIDS babies may have defects in the parts of the nervous system that control breathing and heart rate. Other researchers are trying to identify disorders in infants' metabolism and determine how those disorders react to changes in an infant's body or
surroundings to result in sudden death. Still other scientists are studying certain chemicals in the brain that affect the functioning of the heart, lungs, and other vital organs.
Contact the SIDS Center
Mary McClain, RN, MS
Boston Medical Center
1 Boston Medical Center Pl
Boston, MA 02118-2393
(617) 414-SIDS
(800) 641-7437 (MA & RI)
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