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Lower Levels of Serotonin in Brain Tissue Associated With SIDS CHICAGO -- February 2, 2010 -- Preliminary research indicates that decreased levels in the brainstem of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH2) are associated with an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), according to a study published in the February 3 issue of JAMA. “Abnormalities of serotonin (5-HT) receptor binding in regions of the medulla oblongata involved in this control have been reported in infants dying from SIDS,” the authors wrote. They suggest these abnormalities may play a role in the inability of an infant to respond to a life-threatening challenge, such as asphyxia, during sleep. Jhodie R. Duncan, PhD, Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and colleagues tested the hypothesis that SIDS is associated with reductions in tissue levels of 5-HT, TPH2 or both. The study included for biochemical analysis 35 infants dying from SIDS, 5 infants with acute death from known causes (controls), and 5 hospitalised infants with chronic hypoxia-ischaemia. Tissue samples were obtained via autopsy and levels of serotonin and several enzymes, including 5-HT and TPH2, were measured and analysed. The researchers found that serotonin levels were 26% lower in SIDS cases compared with age-adjusted controls in the raphé obscurus and the paragigantocellularis lateralis (PGCL), regions of the brain. In the raphé obscurus, TPH2 levels were 22% lower in the SIDS cases compared with controls. Also, 5-HT levels were 55% higher in the raphé obscurus and 126% higher in the PGCL in the hospitalised group compared with the SIDS group. “In this article we report the presence of lower levels of medullary 5-HT and TPH2 in infants dying from SIDS, pointing to a deficiency, as opposed to an excess, of 5-HT in the pathogenesis of the disorder,” the authors wrote. “We now postulate that SIDS can be viewed as a disorder caused by a defect in 1 or more components of the medullary 5-HT system …” SOURCE: JAMA E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version