Journal article
The Brainstem and Serotonin in the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Annual review of pathology, Vol.4(1), pp.517-550
2009
DOI: 10.1146/annurev.pathol.4.110807.092322
PMCID: PMC3268259
PMID: 19400695
Abstract
The sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden death of an infant under one year of age that is typically associated with sleep and that remains unexplained after a complete autopsy and death scene investigation. A leading hypothesis about its pathogenesis is that many cases result from defects in brainstem-mediated protective responses to homeostatic stressors occurring during sleep in a critical developmental period. Here we review the evidence for the brainstem hypothesis in SIDS with a focus upon abnormalities related to the neurotransmitter serotonin in the medulla oblongata, as these are the most robust pathologic findings to date. In this context, we synthesize the human autopsy data with genetic, whole-animal, and cellular data concerning the function and development of the medullary serotonergic system. These emerging data suggest an important underlying mechanism in SIDS that may help lead to identification of infants at risk and specific interventions to prevent death.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Brainstem and Serotonin in the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
- Creators
- Hannah C Kinney - Department of Pathology, Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115George B Richerson - Departments of Neurology and Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06520; Neurology Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut 06516Susan M Dymecki - Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115Robert A Darnall - Department of Pediatrics, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03756Eugene E Nattie - Department of Physiology, Dartmouth Medical School, Lebanon, New Hampshire 03756
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Annual review of pathology, Vol.4(1), pp.517-550
- DOI
- 10.1146/annurev.pathol.4.110807.092322
- PMID
- 19400695
- PMCID
- PMC3268259
- NLM abbreviation
- Annu Rev Pathol
- ISSN
- 1553-4006
- eISSN
- 1553-4014
- Grant note
- P01 HD036379-11 || HD / National Institute of Child Health & Human Development : NICHD R01 HD020991-25 || HD / National Institute of Child Health & Human Development : NICHD R01 HL028066-29A1 || HL / National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute : NHLBI
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2009
- Academic Unit
- Neurology; Molecular Physiology and Biophysics; Iowa Neuroscience Institute; Neurosurgery
- Record Identifier
- 9984020503302771
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