Thursday, February 4, 2010

SIDS babies have low serotonin levels, study finds

An article on CNN's website (February 4th) discusses a relationship found between low seratonin levels and babies who have died from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The study was published in the Journal of American Medical Association. The findings showed that the low level of serotonin found in the brainstems of babies who died from SIDS was 26 percent lower (than that found in "normal" babies). Serotonin is involved in sleep, heartrate and breathing. Babies who died from SIDS also had low levels of the enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase, an enzyme used in the making of serotonin. The study's author is Dr. Hannah Kinney who is affiliated with Children's Hospital Boston in Massachusetts. The next phase of the study (according to Kinney) will focus on the WHY- why do these babies not have enough tryptophan hydroxylase to produce serotonin?

Read full story @ http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/03/sids.serotonin/index.html?iref=allsearch

No comments:

Post a Comment