By Madhuri Dey
Feb 4, (THAINDIAN NEWS) A study that was conducted recently shows that infants who have lower levels of the brain chemical serotonin, are more likely to die of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. In fact, researchers have pointed out that it is possible that the low concentration of serotonin in the brains of babies are possibly instrumental in the death of those children. The lack of the chemical is being considered to be the basic abnormality in the infants, something that ultimately leads to death.

It has been found that the levels of serotonin in babies who had died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome was lower by 26%, as compared to babies who succumbed to other causes. Serotonin Is the chemical that regulates the heart rate, breathing and sleep in a child. Serotonin causes a child to wake up when he or she experiences some difficulty in breathing while asleep, triggering a kind of alarm system within the body. However, if the levels are low, it is possible that the child will not understand the difficulties he or she is facing while breathing, and that may lead to death in sleep.

The study points out that the lack of serotonin in the brain of an infant can be attributed to the presence of very low amounts of tryptophan hydroxylase, a kind of enzyme that is responsible for the production of serotonin. So far, there is no way of devising what chances a child has of dying of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The study was conducted to the end of determining what leads to the low production of serotonin, or for that matter, tryptophan hydroxylase.