Abstract
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been defined as the sudden unexpected death of an infant during sleep and in which a through postmorten examination fails to demonstrate a cause of death. However, abnormal patterns of respiration, sleep and heart rate activity have been reported. Besides higher values of dendritic spine density have also been observed. We studied the histological maturation of neurons from the nucleus Principal Olivary, Hipoglossus and pontine and the pyramidal cells of the motor cortex of 3 infants diagnosed as SIDS and 2 non-SIDS (pneumonia) of 1 to 2 months of postnatal age. A quantitative Golgi Cox analysis of the total mean dendritic arborization was performed. Lower values of dendritic density in SIDS brainstem compared to controls were observed while no differences in basilar dendritic arborazation of pyramidal cells of SIDS and non SIDS was detected. Our findings may indicate an immature developmental pattern in SIDS brainstem, suggesting that a noxius influence alters the ontogeny of brainstem development but does not alter ontogenesis of the cerebral cortex. The quantitative differences in dendritic density could be considered as an anatomical substrate of brainstem dysfunction in the multifactorial pathogenesis of SIDS.
Supported by Grant M-2900 from the Depto. Técnico de Investigación. Universidad de Chile. Santiago de Chile.
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Cordero, N., Benveniste, S., Nuñez, J. et al. HISTOLOGICAL MATURATION OF THE BRAINSTEM AND CEREBRUM IN THE SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME (SIDS). Pediatr Res 32, 739 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199212000-00034
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199212000-00034