Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is still not well understood. It is defined as the sudden and unexpected death of an infant without a definitive cause. There are numerous hypotheses about the etiology of SIDS but the exact cause or causes have never been pinpointed. Examination of theoretical pathologies might only be possible in animal models. Development of these models requires considera...

BACKGROUND In June 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Infant Positioning and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) made its first recommendation concerning placing infants in a supine position. Since the publication of this recommendation, SIDS rates in the United States have declined 44%. Before this recommendation, SIDS had a marked seasonal pattern and was noted to occur mo...

Lethal challenge of gnotobiotic weanling rats I am surprised that a more critical appraisal of the paper by Lee et al' was not made prior to publication. The paper is poorly constructed and the conclusions invalid. The mixing of the commensal organisms obtained from the nasopharynx of different infants who had died as a result of SIDS, and injecting them subcutaneously in high concentrations (l...

AIM To identify risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the sleeping environment of Irish infants. METHODS A five year population based case-control study with parental interviews conducted for each case and three controls matched for age, place of birth, and last sleep period. A total of 203 SIDS cases and 622 control infants born 1994-98 were studied. RESULTS In a multivar...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011), more than 4,500 infants die annually in the United States of no apparent cause of death. These deaths are defined as sudden unexplained infant deaths (SUID). Half of these SUIDs are because of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is defined as the sudden death of an infant less than 1 year of age that remains unexplained a...

The consequences of climate change are being experienced asymmetrically, with States which were exploited during the colonial era disproportionately bearing costs. Among these States, case Small Island Developing (SIDS) is haunting due to their increasing uninhabitability amidst rising sea-levels. This article will interrogate crystallized Western notion Statehood and urge a vision its four pil...

OBJECTIVE To contribute to a more balanced assessment of the morphological substrates underlying unexplained perinatal death and SIDS. METHODS In-depth histological, immunohistochemical and genetic examinations were performed on the autonomic nervous and cardiac conduction systems in 95 unexpected perinatal deaths, 140 SIDS and 78 controls (44 infants and 34 perinatal death victims). RESULT...

An attempt was made to produce an animal model of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The experimental animals (germ free weanling rats) were exposed to nasopharyngeal isolates from cases of SIDS to test the hypothesis that common bacteria may have an aetiological role in the disease. Negative results were obtained when the strains were tested in isolation, but certain combinations of organism...

All sudden, unexpected infant deaths presenting during a two year period within a defined geographical area in Avon and north Somerset were investigated for inherited metabolic disease. Of 95 deaths, 88 were classified as cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). In addition to the normal postmortem investigations, samples of cerebrospinal fluid, urine, vitreous humour, and skin were collec...

Almost 20 years ago prone sleeping position was established as a risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and with risk reduction campaigns which largely focused on this one factor, the incidence of SIDS has declined by 50-80% in most of the countries where campaigns were conducted. However, the pathophysiological cause or causes of SIDS are not yet known, although many theories have...