Sudden infant death is the greatest fear of parents with newborn babies. It is defined as the sudden and unexpected death of a child under one year of age, and it is estimated that one in 2,000 babies dies from it.
It does not warn, there are no symptoms, it occurs suddenly and for reasons that are still unknown today, but scientists continue to investigate to find them. One of the last great advances that have been achieved has been identify a protein whose deficit in the baby's brain could be implicated in the sudden death of the baby.
Sudden death occurs mostly between the fourth and sixteenth week, that is, between the first and fourth month of the baby's life. There are several hypotheses that relate it to abnormalities in the brain, with a genetic mutation or problems in the baby's heart.
So far, we only know ways to prevent it, but it has not hit the spot with the reasons that trigger it, although in light of the latest research could be a combination of factors.
Orexin protein
Researchers at the Westmead Children's Hospital in Sydney have found evidence that babies dying from sudden infant death syndrome, also known as "death in the crib," have low orexin levels, a protein present in the brain, more specifically in the hypothalamus, which regulates sleep stimulation and is responsible for waking the baby when he is deprived of oxygen.
In the study, which was carried out for eleven years, they studied the cases of 46 babies who had died, 27 of whom died from SIDS. They found a 21 percent decrease in orexin in babies who died of SIDS compared to a control group.
This means that the answer to wake up is not so strong in these children As it is in other babies.
The scientists found low levels of this protein in the brains of adults with obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes breathing pauses during sleep.
Can it be prevented?
It is the big question we need to know to avoid this tragedy. The good news is that although it is the tip of the iceberg, "the discovery raises hopes that babies can be examined to avoid this risk in the future," says Rita Machaalani, author of the study. "Detection could be a reality 10 to 15 years away," he adds.
