More Evidence that Sudden Infant Death is Linked to Brain Chemical

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By Eliza Strickland
Jul 4, 2008 2:02 AMNov 5, 2019 5:10 AM
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Researchers have the best evidence yet that the brain chemical serotonin plays a role in sudden infant death sydrome (SIDS). In a new study, researchers genetically engineered mice to have low levels of serotonin at birth, and found that more than half of the mice abruptly died before they were 3 months old. More intriguing, they had erratic episodes where their heart rate would drop and, five to 10 minutes later, so would their body temperature, [study author Cornelius] Gross reported. Sometimes they died in the midst of what Gross calls those crises, other times afterward

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