River’s Gift funds breakthrough SIDS research

INTERNATIONAL research supported by Geelong-based charity River’s Gift has uncovered a developmental abnormality in babies – especially in premature babies and in boys – that for the first time has been directly linked to cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Researchers believe this abnormality, in the brain’s control of head and neck movement, breathing, heartbeat and the body’s responses to deprivation of oxygen supply, could be the reason why some babies sleeping on their front are more at risk of SIDS.

The research was conducted by Dr Fiona Bright and Professor Roger Byard, Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, in collaboration with Professor Hannah Kinney’s lab at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital.

The results of the study, which investigated 55 SIDS cases in the United States, have been published in journal PLOS ONE.

“One of the reasons why SIDS is so devastating for families is that death often occurs with no warning and no obvious signs of illness,” Dr Bright said.

“While the exact cause of death in SIDS has not been identified, multiple studies have pointed to a subset of SIDS babies that are not entirely ‘normal’ before death. These infants all seem to have some form of underlying vulnerability, exposing them to increased risk.

“Our studies have now discovered a significant abnormality within key regions of the brainstem in SIDS babies, specifically in parts of the brainstem that control breathing and movements of the head and neck. This abnormality is directly linked to SIDS cases.”

River’s Gift founder and general manager Karl Waddell said the charity’s main objective was to fund world-leading SIDS research to make a major contribution to the discovery of a cure for this heart-breaking loss of life.

“We are excited about these latest research findings, which show tangible evidence as to the underlying cause of SIDS in a number of cases.

“We hope this research will eventually assist in the quest to stamp out SIDS.”