by Families affected by the tragic condition known as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) have spoken out about their experiences after a new study suggested scientists are close to identifying a cause.
SIDS is the sudden, unexplained death of a baby under one year of age who has no apparent cause. The disorder is sometimes called “crib death” or “crib death” as it is associated with the time the baby is sleeping.
SIDS is the leading cause of death among babies aged between one month and one year, with the vast majority of deaths occurring before a baby reaches six months of age, according to the National Institute of Health states. Each year, there are about 3,400 cases of sudden unexpected infant deaths in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a classification that includes SIDS.
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By definition, the cause of SIDS is unknown. The condition can be painful for bereaved parents who are left unanswered.
Some evidence has suggested that babies who die from SIDS had a brain condition that affects nerve cells that can control vital functions like breathing and heart rate, but other possible factors have also been identified.
Scientists have now identified a chemical known as Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), whose activity they found to be significantly lower in babies who died from SIDS compared to live babies or those who died from conditions other than SIDS.
The finding could mean doctors will be able to identify babies at risk for SIDS before death and open up new research into prevention.
The study proved extremely popular on Twitter, where it was hailed as a major scientific breakthrough. a tweet describing the survey gained over 60,000 likes and over 1,000 comments on Friday.
They found the cause of SIDS
FOUND THE CAUSE OF SIDSI’m sorry as I cry for all the parents, including lead researcher Dr. Carmel Harrington, who lived with guilt. And cry tears of happiness for parents in the future who will have access to screening and prevention. 😭 pic.twitter.com/LCp4A63HXd
— Debbie Mia (@TheDebbieMia) May 12, 2022
The news prompted several Twitter users to speak out about their own experiences of losing loved ones or their own children to SIDS.
kathykiiscool wrote that she lost her first child at 38 weeks in what doctors said was SIDS in utero, adding that “the technician cried while doing the ultrasound”.
“Even though my SIDS happened in 1991, the emotion and pain are still there,” she said. newsweek.
She said she “never got answers” when she lost her baby to SIDS when she was just 19.
I lost my first child at 38 weeks, I told SIDS in the womb. I felt movement on Wednesday, very little movement on Thursday (19 years old, 1st pregnancy) said IT’S NORMAL, Friday at the doctor’s appointment no heartbeat, the technician cried when doing the ultrasound
— kathyking (@kathykiscool) May 13, 2022
Getvalentined wrote that his mother lost a little sister to SIDS over 50 years ago and that his family “never recovered”. She said newsweek: “The advance will certainly help save a lot of babies – but I don’t think people realize how many families it will save either.”
My mother lost a little sister to SIDS over 50 years ago. Her family never recovered, and what her parents did to deal with her haunts her to this day. I hope this discovery means that eventually no other family has to go through what hers did.
—nashi/valentine ♡ SHE BROKEN HER TO VIEW?! (@getvalentined) May 13, 2022
The new SIDS study, titled “Butyrylcholinesterase is a potential biomarker for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome”, has been published in the journal eBioMedicine on May 6th.
