researchers figure out why infants die from SIDS

[elfenix 34336]

Quote

SIDS refers to the unexplained deaths of infants under a year old, and it usually occurs while the child is sleeping. According to Mayo Clinic, many in the medical community suspected this phenomenon could be caused by a defect in the part of the brain that controls arousal from sleep and breathing. The theory was that if the infant stopped breathing during sleep, the defect would keep the child from startling or waking up. 

The Sydney researchers were able to confirm this theory by analyzing dried blood samples taken from newborns who died from SIDS and other unknown causes. Each SIDS sample was then compared with blood taken from healthy babies. They found the activity of the enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) was significantly lower in babies who died of SIDS compared to living infants and other non-SIDS infant deaths. BChE plays a major role in the brain’s arousal pathway, explaining why SIDS typically occurs during sleep. 

https://www.biospace.com/article/researchers-answer-how-and-why-infants-die-from-sids/

 

[Ghost of LL 15544]

So I imagine this will now be something they screen newborns for immediately after birth.  But is there any indication of what the treatment might be?

[Brisketexan 105407]

Whoa.  That's amazing.

Science, dudes.  It's some amazing shit.  And that there may be a way to screen for the risk early on, again....just incredible.

[Foosters 17889]

So all those high-risk factors - Smoking parents, things in the crib, stomach sleeping, etc. - were all just coincidental?

[Laxtonto 12121]

Just now, Foosters said:

So all those high-risk factors - Smoking parents, things in the crib, stomach sleeping, etc. - were all just coincidental?

First thing my wife said is "so now we can go back to letting those poor babies having a blanket to cuddle with at night"...

 

[Chad Fuck 17804]

Just now, Foosters said:

So all those high-risk factors - Smoking parents, things in the crib, stomach sleeping, etc. - were all just coincidental?

I think some of it was best guesses.  If the issue is breathing, then you try to avoid things that inhibit breathing.  

But if your brain is missing the part the trigger that says, "Wake up, you're not breathing!" keeping things out of the crib that would inhibit breathing are a good idea.  

Way back when I was a kid I stayed with a local babysitter a lot.  One of the kids she was keeping died of SIDS.  I was pre-school, but I could feel the trauma surrounding that. You could see the aura of guilt around the babysitter.  

Hopefully this saves a lot of babies, and brings some small measure of comfort to those affected.  

What a win for science. 

[UnivTex34 1763]

4 minutes ago, Laxtonto said:

First thing my wife said is "so now we can go back to letting those poor babies having a blanket to cuddle with at night"...

 

Moms coworker recently lost a near 1 year old to strangulation in the crib due to too many blankets. Tied herself up from tossing and turning. I think we will still keep the blankets out of our little ones crib still.

[ztejas 43545]

1 minute ago, UnivTex34 said:

I think we will still keep the blankets out of our little ones crib still.

Depends on how much you like the kid I guess. 

[immamac 43154]

5 minutes ago, UnivTex34 said:

Moms coworker recently lost a near 1 year old to strangulation in the crib due to too many blankets. Tied herself up from tossing and turning. I think we will still keep the blankets out of our little ones crib still.

The fuck? Has she never heard of a swaddle? 

[UnivTex34 1763]

1 minute ago, immamac said:

The fuck? Has she never heard of a swaddle? 

Apparently the combo of a bad swaddle and several old family heirloom linen blankets. 
 

Just fucking horrible

[Homercles 10206]

Remind me what age you consider SIDS a remote possibility?  If the baby was nearing a year old it might be about that time you start relaxing a bit.  That’s almost worse than losing a newborn because personality and interactivity is accelerating at that age.  Death of any child is tragic.  
 

I remember my wife had cute crib bumpers for our first born but removed them before he was born after reading research.  We swaddled them, had fans running, kept them on their back, etc and it was still terrifying if they slept abnormally well ensuring they were breathing ok.  
 

My guess is the guidelines won’t change but maybe a simple test will tell you about elevated risk for more knowledgeable management of sleeping.  Yeah they hate sleeping on their backs without blankets but they just outgrow it and in the grand scheme it’s a small thing to sacrifice in the name of safety.  

[ChuckNorrisActionJeans 2682]

Between this and no abortion, we gonna have lots of extra people up in this joint 

[Pato del Muerto 52610]

23 minutes ago, Foosters said:

So all those high-risk factors - Smoking parents, things in the crib, stomach sleeping, etc. - were all just coincidental?

Well if the items in the crib are what caused the breathing to stop, wouldn’t it be best to leave them out?  

[Pato del Muerto 52610]

4 minutes ago, Homercles said:

Remind me what age you consider SIDS a remote possibility?  If the baby was nearing a year old it might be about that time you start relaxing a bit.  That’s almost worse than losing a newborn because personality and interactivity is accelerating at that age.  Death of any child is tragic.  
 

I remember my wife had cute crib bumpers for our first born but removed them before he was born after reading research.  We swaddled them, had fans running, kept them on their back, etc and it was still terrifying if they slept abnormally well ensuring they were breathing ok.  
 

My guess is the guidelines won’t change but maybe a simple test will tell you about elevated risk for more knowledgeable management of sleeping.  Yeah they hate sleeping on their backs without blankets but they just outgrow it and in the grand scheme it’s a small thing to sacrifice in the name of safety.  

I forget if it was 12 or 18 months for us that we stopped worrying. 

[UnivTex34 1763]

4 minutes ago, Homercles said:

Remind me what age you consider SIDS a remote possibility?  If the baby was nearing a year old it might be about that time you start relaxing a bit.  That’s almost worse than losing a newborn because personality and interactivity is accelerating at that age.  Death of any child is tragic.  
 

I remember my wife had cute crib bumpers for our first born but removed them before he was born after reading research.  We swaddled them, had fans running, kept them on their back, etc and it was still terrifying if they slept abnormally well ensuring they were breathing ok.  
 

My guess is the guidelines won’t change but maybe a simple test will tell you about elevated risk for more knowledgeable management of sleeping.  Yeah they hate sleeping on their backs without blankets but they just outgrow it and in the grand scheme it’s a small thing to sacrifice in the name of safety.  

Yeah, we were always told up to a year. We had one of those fancy Nanit baby monitors that used the special swaddles to detect breathing. Had a few false “red alert” alarms when we had swaddled too tightly and I will tell you, you don’t sleep the rest of the night when that thing goes off.

[DaysOff 7975]

Breathing is a new skill for an infant. They've been underwater for nine months and get better at with time.

[Foosters 17889]

4 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

Well if the items in the crib are what caused the breathing to stop, wouldn’t it be best to leave them out?  

Obviously. I was asking a serious question about previous findings that indicated the presence of those things increased the risk of SIDS deaths.

[Murfdogg21 4430]

59 minutes ago, Ghost of LL said:

So I imagine this will now be something they screen newborns for immediately after birth.  But is there any indication of what the treatment might be?

The parent sets an alarm to wake up every 10 minutes and slap the baby to make sure it’s still breathing. 

[Native Horn 3516]

So BcHE is peachy?  Who knew?

That is really awesome research.  Hopefully this will save many parents/families the heartbreak of losing a child to SIDS.  

[Chad Fuck 17804]

8 minutes ago, UnivTex34 said:

Yeah, we were always told up to a year. We had one of those fancy Nanit baby monitors that used the special swaddles to detect breathing. Had a few false “red alert” alarms when we had swaddled too tightly and I will tell you, you don’t sleep the rest of the night when that thing goes off.

Same here.  I always slept rather lightly that first year and a half.  

Now the burger alarm will go off and Chad Jr. sleeps right through it.  So, maybe those sleepless nights were warranted. 

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

So I imagine this will now be something they screen newborns for immediately after birth.  But is there any indication of what the treatment might be?

imagine finding out your kid's susceptible and there is no treatment. 18 months of terrible sleep/anxiety for the parents.

[UnivTex34 1763]

2 minutes ago, Murfdogg21 said:

The parent sets an alarm to wake up every 10 minutes and slap the baby to make sure it’s still breathing. 

Sounds like there may be a market for a medical device that can be hooked up to monitor breathing and wake the baby when it detects a stoppage. One of you engineers work something up and get rich. I’ll take a 1% commission for the idea

[Ellellelle 314]

Remind me what age you consider SIDS a remote possibility?  If the baby was nearing a year old it might be about that time you start relaxing a bit.  That’s almost worse than losing a newborn because personality and interactivity is accelerating at that age.  Death of any child is tragic.  
 
I remember my wife had cute crib bumpers for our first born but removed them before he was born after reading research.  We swaddled them, had fans running, kept them on their back, etc and it was still terrifying if they slept abnormally well ensuring they were breathing ok.  
 
My guess is the guidelines won’t change but maybe a simple test will tell you about elevated risk for more knowledgeable management of sleeping.  Yeah they hate sleeping on their backs without blankets but they just outgrow it and in the grand scheme it’s a small thing to sacrifice in the name of safety.  

The guidance is nothing in the crib for at least 12 months. But SIDS is heavily skewed towards younger infants so the risk drops substantially as they get past a certain age (can't recall what it is). There is also really no point in giving them blankets because they won't use them properly.

Sent from my Pixel 6 Pro using Tapatalk

[Pato del Muerto 52610]

25 minutes ago, Foosters said:

Obviously. I was asking a serious question about previous findings that indicated the presence of those things increased the risk of SIDS deaths.

It was a serious answer. If the problem is the pathway by which breathing distress doesn’t signal the person to wake up and solve the problem, then one important step is to limit the ways that breathing could be impaired.  Especially when you can’t attack the root cause since you don’t know it. Now they know it. Hopefully a few months of research and testing will yield a test to screen for the issue, and a few years of research and testing will end up in a treatment. 

[Ghost of LL 15544]

52 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

imagine finding out your kid's susceptible and there is no treatment. 18 months of terrible sleep/anxiety for the parents.

I guess that's my question.  Would there be any treatment?  Or would it be "Here's your little timebomb--enjoy!" when you left the hospital?

[CooterBrown 18032]

Whoa.  That's amazing.
Science, dudes.  It's some amazing shit.  And that there may be a way to screen for the risk early on, again....just incredible.

Like science is real. Jebus just needed junior by his side early, you heathen.

[JMFP 1125]

I suffer from central sleep apnea and always wondered if that could be related to SIDS... 

[Deej 76944]

4 minutes ago, JMFP said:

I suffer from central sleep apnea and always wondered if that could be related to SIDS... 

I read somewhere that sleep apnea is caused by the part of your brain that controls your breathing going to sleep with the rest of your brain when it isn't supposed to and certain cannabinoids stimulate that part of your brain. It may be bullshit, but my sleep apnea is much improved if I take CBD's before bedtime. 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Deej

[gsoda3 3283]

2 hours ago, immamac said:

The fuck? Has she never heard of a swaddle? 

you're not swaddling a one year old. 

 

we gave ours sleep sacks starting from 3 months on.

[Dahobbs 17686]

2 hours ago, Foosters said:

So all those high-risk factors - Smoking parents, things in the crib, stomach sleeping, etc. - were all just coincidental?

As said above, the low BChE issue doesn't cause the breathing issue. It just is a sign that the body's automatic way of dealing with it may not function properly. It is still important to prevent the underlying distress, apparently especially for children born with low BChE. Further, given that the incidence of SIDS dramatically lowers with age, I would have to assume this is developmental deficiency that the body eventually corrects to a large degree. 

1 hour ago, Ghost of LL said:

I guess that's my question.  Would there be any treatment?  Or would it be "Here's your little timebomb--enjoy!" when you left the hospital?

Identifying at risk children is itself a benefit. Extra monitoring or additional precautions are certainly in order for them until/unless a treatment can be devised. It isn't so much a time bomb as a vulnerability that needs to be guarded. I suppose this research may eventually allow loosening of precautions with children with a sufficient BChE level, although given that the precautions aren't onerous most likely providers will continue to recommend the current SIDS precautions. 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Dahobbs

[Wulaw Horn 19153]

47 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

As said above, the low BChE issue doesn't cause the breathing issue. It just is a sign that the body's automatic way of dealing with it may not function properly. It is still important to prevent the underlying distress, apparently especially for children born with low BChE. Further, given that the incidence of SIDS dramatically lowers with age, I would have to assume this is developmental deficiency that the body eventually corrects to a large degree. 

. 

Or else those that were going to die just die in year 1. Be interesting to know prevalent this is and what the interaction is over time. I suspect you are correct but would want to isolate out some other variables before any conclusion is made. 

[TexasEd 8077]

3 hours ago, Homercles said:

Remind me what age you consider SIDS a remote possibility?  If the baby was nearing a year old it might be about that time you start relaxing a bit.  That’s almost worse than losing a newborn because personality and interactivity is accelerating at that age.  Death of any child is tragic.  
 

I remember my wife had cute crib bumpers for our first born but removed them before he was born after reading research.  We swaddled them, had fans running, kept them on their back, etc and it was still terrifying if they slept abnormally well ensuring they were breathing ok.  
 

My guess is the guidelines won’t change but maybe a simple test will tell you about elevated risk for more knowledgeable management of sleeping.  Yeah they hate sleeping on their backs without blankets but they just outgrow it and in the grand scheme it’s a small thing to sacrifice in the name of safety.  

As said, 12 months.  Developmentally when they can sit up and stand holding on to something.

Agree, I don't think the standard changes because of the tossing and turning tragedy posted above.  They could also put something in their mouth that blocks breathing.

[bernorange 8366]

I wonder if this same issue might be in play with SUDEP cases.  

[Dahobbs 17686]

21 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Or else those that were going to die just die in year 1. Be interesting to know prevalent this is and what the interaction is over time. I suspect you are correct but would want to isolate out some other variables before any conclusion is made. 

You'll see the non-SID deaths and control cases all have ranges that also overlap with the ranges of the SIDS deaths. At least as to this marker, there isn't any evidence that every child with low levels is going to die. It is much more consistent with what I described, but I agree additional research is needed. 

[Armybrat 40919]

3 hours ago, DaysOff said:

Breathing is a new skill for an infant. They've been underwater for nine months and get better at with time.

Our twin grandkids were born premature (weighed 29 ounces each) at 25 weeks. The doctors said their little lungs were pretty wet still. They remained in the Seton Neonatal Unit for three months, so yeah, we were extremely tense for almost two years.

They will turn 30 years old later this year.

God bless science and the medical personnel.

 

[Updawg 2286]

Pretty impressive. Is definitely scary stuff.

[CleverNickname 1321]

I wonder if it calls into question the recall of the Fisher aprice rock n play. If millions and millions were in use, and 1 in 150k infants got SIDSz wouldn't some kids die and it not be the bassinet fault?

[ztejas 43545]

10 minutes ago, CleverNickname said:

I wonder if it calls into question the recall of the Fisher aprice rock n play. If millions and millions were in use, and 1 in 150k infants got SIDSz wouldn't some kids die and it not be the bassinet fault?

Jesus man have some decency. My parents died in a rock 'n play accident. 

[Hate 20146]

6 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

 Now the burger alarm will go off and Chad Jr. sleeps right through it. 

Where in the hell do you get a burger alarm??

[Bullneck 19213]

6 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

Same here.  I always slept rather lightly that first year and a half.  

Now the burger alarm will go off and Chad Jr. sleeps right through it.  So, maybe those sleepless nights were warranted. 

My burger alarm is set for noon.  

[Judge Roybeanbag 11821]

6 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

Same here.  I always slept rather lightly that first year and a half.  

Now the burger alarm will go off and Chad Jr. sleeps right through it.  So, maybe those sleepless nights were warranted. 

Tell me more about this “burger alarm”.  Will it keep my kids from eating the leftover one I was saving for lunch the next day?

[Grade of D as in David 13253]

 

Burger alarm talk not going away.

 

 

 

 

Back on topic, it's really fucking cool they found out what causes sids. It's one of those things you're not really expecting but when you hear about it it really does brighten your day.

[TKthunder2 4997]

50 minutes ago, Grade of D as in David said:

Back on topic, it's really fucking cool they found out what causes sids. It's one of those things you're not really expecting but when you hear about it it really does brighten your day.

Seriously, my youngest is just over 2 now so we’re probably safe enough and won’t have her tested for this (if that even becomes a mainstream thing) or anything but it still felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders when I read the story.  SIDS is some scary shit, so having more information about it will make early parenthood a far better experience for those in the developed world.

[Chad Fuck 17804]

11 hours ago, Hate said:

Where in the hell do you get a burger alarm??

[Chad Fuck 17804]

9 hours ago, Grade of D as in David said:

 

Burger alarm talk not going away.

 

 

 

 

Back on topic, it's really fucking cool they found out what causes sids. It's one of those things you're not really expecting but when you hear about it it really does brighten your day.

Goddam beat me to it.  This crew is too fast for me. 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Chad Fuck

[SHOOTER12 8833]

22 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

I think some of it was best guesses.  If the issue is breathing, then you try to avoid things that inhibit breathing.  

But if your brain is missing the part the trigger that says, "Wake up, you're not breathing!" keeping things out of the crib that would inhibit breathing are a good idea.  

Way back when I was a kid I stayed with a local babysitter a lot.  One of the kids she was keeping died of SIDS.  I was pre-school, but I could feel the trauma surrounding that. You could see the aura of guilt around the babysitter.  

Hopefully this saves a lot of babies, and brings some small measure of comfort to those affected.  

What a win for science. 

Had a similar experience here.  About 23 years ago I lost a great nephew to SIDS. The boys aunt was babysitting him when it happened.  The shame,  blame and finger pointing was horrible and went on for years.

It is great to see a breakthrough concerning this, but as was mentioned upthread,  what treatment can be used?

[Dahobbs 17686]

15 hours ago, CleverNickname said:

I wonder if it calls into question the recall of the Fisher aprice rock n play. If millions and millions were in use, and 1 in 150k infants got SIDSz wouldn't some kids die and it not be the bassinet fault?

Why would this change anything about the recall? I've attached the full congressional report for reference. The Rock N Play was marketed for overnight sleeping despite being an inappropriate place for infants to sleep.  

https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/Inclined Sleeper Report.pdf

Edited May 13, 2022 by Dahobbs

[UTexasFight 9541]

23 hours ago, elfenix said:

SIDS refers to the unexplained deaths of infants under a year old, and it usually occurs while the child is sleeping. According to Mayo Clinic, many in the medical community suspected this phenomenon could be caused by a defect in the part of the brain that controls arousal from sleep and breathing. The theory was that if the infant stopped breathing during sleep, the defect would keep the child from startling or waking up. 

The Sydney researchers were able to confirm this theory by analyzing dried blood samples taken from newborns who died from SIDS and other unknown causes. Each SIDS sample was then compared with blood taken from healthy babies. They found the activity of the enzyme butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) was significantly lower in babies who died of SIDS compared to living infants and other non-SIDS infant deaths. BChE plays a major role in the brain’s arousal pathway, explaining why SIDS typically occurs during sleep. 

 

 

 

https://www.biospace.com/article/researchers-answer-how-and-why-infants-die-from-sids/

 

 

This is incredibly wonderful news. 

But I’m hoping this summary is a vast oversimplification.

Or that the medical community only very recently suspected this cause.

Seems it would be pretty easy to  get from point A to point B.

”we think something is keeping babies from waking up when they stop breathing.”

what do we know causes arousal in brains? 

“BChE”

do we have blood samples from deceased and alive and well babies to compare levels between the two?

”hmm. We should try that.”

 

 

 

 

Or maybe like many amazing breakthroughs, the answer only seems so obvious in hindsight.

[CleverNickname 1321]

31 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

Why would this change anything about the recall? I've attached the full congressional report for reference. The Rock N Play was marketed for overnight sleeping despite being an inappropriate place for infants to sleep.  

https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/Inclined Sleeper Report.pdf

Ah, bummer. I remember reading something like 32 deaths in 4.7M sales. Which is awful, but also maybe kmjust random noise? Those were magic for many.

[Guest]

23 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Whoa.  That's amazing.

Science, dudes.  It's some amazing shit.  And that there may be a way to screen for the risk early on, again....just incredible.

 

This was my biggest fear as a new parent 14 years ago. Glad my kids may not have to worry as much.