American researchers have identified an anomaly in an area of the brain located at the level of the hippocampus which could be partly responsible for the sudden death of the infant.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is thought to be due to a brain defect located in a region of the brain, which is also associated with epilepsy. This is what a new study published in the journal reveals Acta Neuropathologia.
40% of sudden death cases caused by the anomaly
According to American researchers, the area in question is the dentate gyrus, a structure of the brain located in the hippocampus, the region that stores the faculties of learning and memory. By studying the brains of 153 children who died of sudden infant death syndrome, the researchers found a brain abnormality in 40% of them. While the dentate gyrus normally only has one layer of nerve cells, researchers have found two layers in this percentage of children. This is how they managed to detect the anomaly. According to the researchers, this anomaly would cause lesions and would affect the cardiac and respiratory functions, provided by the dentate gyrus. Which would explain some of these MSNs. This cerebral anomaly is not, however, the only cause of sudden death since it only affects 40% of the brains of the babies studied.
Always lay the baby on his back
While the mystery has always hovered around the exact causes of SIDS, all the research carried out in this area agrees that this phenomenon is linked to the environment in which the baby sleeps. This is why several recommendations help to prevent the risk of SIDS: always lay the baby on his back, on a firm mattress, without a pillow or blanket, and in a room heated to 19-20 degrees.
According to a survey carried out by the Institut de Veille Sanitaire (InVS) in March 2011, “a significant number of deaths could be avoided each year if infants were to lie down in a suitable environment”. Each year, there are 240 and 250 sudden infant deaths (SIDS) in France.
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