They found the cause for SIDS!

Wow, that's huge! They already do the heel prick test on all newborns, so I wonder if it's as simple as also testing these enzyme levels at the same time?

That whole story is amazing - finding the enzyme and the fact that it was a mom scientist who had lost a child to SIDS. She’s amazing. I don’t know her, never heard of her and I’m so proud of her.

this is super facinating. My niece was 11 and passed away in her sleep in January and they still haven't found a cause but have suspceted it could be related to SIDS but always discount that because of her age but this makes you think it could be something related.

Oh, I’m so sorry. We had a family friend this happened to when he was in high school and they speculated the same thing. 

Gosh - that’s so sad. I’m so sorry for your family’s loss. 

This is such hopeful news. I know so many parents mention that they spend the first year or so in fear of SIDS, and of course so many have experienced the loss of their precious children due to it. Knowing why it happens is so pivotal. Now not only can researchers start trying to find a medical form of prevention, but companies already creating more sophisticated baby monitoring systems can hopefully create even better products to help bridge the gap in time between now and a time when hopefully doctors can offer a form of prevention to parents of children at higher risk.

This is great news!

This is such amazing news! A co-worker of mine lost her infant son to SIDS and her husband was so convinced she did something that he divorced her. I cannot imagine the grief of losing your child and your marriage at the same time. I admire how the scientist was determined to find the answer to this mystery and keep at it for nearly three decades.

This happened to a child of a teacher at our school at the same age. She was at a sleepover and never woke up. 😥

Exactly!!  Knowing is half the battle... preventing it is the other half.  I hope the come up with a supplement or something to give to babies/kids who have the enzyme present.  If not, while it will bring comfort to those who's baby/child has died from SIDS, how does this really help prevent deaths? 

This is very positive news. I hope that they can use these findings to protect babies and prevent SIDS altogether.

meriannj, I'm so sorry for the loss of your precious niece.

This is awesome news that I hope brings some peace to my sister-in-law who lost a twin newborn son 27 years ago this June. I need to find a gentle way to share the article with her. ❤️

Yes! From the article:

“In the study, the researchers wrote, “This finding represents the possibility for the identification of infants at risk for SIDS infants prior to death and opens new avenues for future research into specific interventions.”

As the cause is now known, researchers can turn their attention to a solution. In the next few years, those in the medical community who have studied SIDS will likely work on a screening test to identify babies who are at risk for SIDS and hopefully prevent it altogether.”

This is the first step  but a very huge step. More research will follow to find how to prevent it. As much as we would wish it to, medical science don't find answers overnight.

The mother mentioned in the article is a sleep specialist not the actual scientists who will probably be the ones to do further research but working together has certainly paid dividends.

Her website might be of interest to anyone that has a sleep problem Sleep for Health

I know two people that have lost their babies to SIDS, 20 years apart. The second family had no more of an explanation as to why it happened than the first family. This breakthrough is a wonderful step forward for many.

Surely that would be terrible but I imagine there will be sciences-backed recommendations for them while a true cure/treatment is developed. What’s the alternative? Not saying the cause has been discovered? That’s not really now scientific breakthroughs work.