A Groundbreaking New Study May Have Pinpointed A Cause Of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Which Impacts Thousands Of Families Across The U.S. Each Year
Experts have spent years investigating sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and now, researchers at NYU may have pinpointed a cause in a recent study. The findings suggest that brief seizures, which involve muscle spasms, might be a key factor in these heartbreaking fatalities that impact thousands of families across the nation annually.
“Our study, although small, offers the first direct evidence that seizures may be responsible for some sudden deaths in children, which are usually unwitnessed during sleep,” said Dr. Laura Gould, the study’s lead researcher.
SIDS predominantly affects infants under 6 months old, and these deaths generally happen during sleep. Among older children, a similar, unexplained phenomenon is known as sudden unexplained death in children (SUDC).
After the loss of her daughter Maria to SUDC in 1997, who was only 15 months old, Dr. Gould played a pivotal role in founding the SUDC Registry and Research Collaborative at NYU Langone.
Since then, her research team at New York University (NYU) has analyzed over 300 SUDC cases. This included a review of medical records and video recordings of infants sleeping, as well as seven instances in which seizures were likely the cause of death.
These videos revealed that the convulsions typically lasted for under 60 seconds, and tragically, these incidents occurred within a half hour before the child’s death.
So, Dr. Orrin Devinsky, the study’s senior investigator, claimed that convulsive seizures might be the “smoking gun” that experts have been searching for to figure out these children’s deaths.
“Studying this phenomenon may also provide critical insight into many other deaths, including those from SIDS and epilepsy,” Dr. Devinsky added.
In the past, researchers have observed a link between seizures and SUDC, discovering that individuals who suffered from febrile seizures– or those occurring with a fever– had a tenfold increased risk of sudden and unexpected death.
Vera – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual child
The NYU researchers pointed out that they lacked data to confirm whether fevers were the cause of the deaths they examined, but they did observe that several of the children showed symptoms of mild infections.
Now, Dr. Gould is hopeful that this new research could help save children’s lives.
“If we can figure out the children at risk, maybe we can change their outcome,” she said.
Still, the team emphasized the need for more research to fully comprehend how seizures can result in death.
The study’s findings also followed an announcement from another research team that identified low levels of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE)– a blood enzyme– as a possible factor in SIDS. This enzyme is crucial in the process of waking up.
According to Dr. Carmel Harrington, this team’s lead researcher, “Families can now live with the knowledge that this was not their fault.”
To read the NYU researchers’ complete findings, which have since been published in Neurology, visit the link here.
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