Scientists Link SIDS to Chemical in Brain

A research paper has linked SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) to serotonin, a chemical in the brain that affects mood and regulates body temperature, breathing and heart rate. A team of scientists wanted to examine serotonin's role in aggression and anxiety, so they genetically engineered mice to overproduce serotonin. But the researchers noted, in what one called a "chance discovery," that most of the mice died young after their bodies failed to regulate temperature and heart rate. This looked a lot like SIDS. It isn't the first research to show a link to serotonin--another team that looked at autopsies of children who died of SIDS revealed that the infants had abnormal serotonin-producing cells in their brains. This knowledge could ultimately lead to better screening for babies at greatest risk of SIDS.