PEDIATRICS Vol. 98 No. 2 August 1996, pp. 320
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THE ANAPHYLAXIS HYPOTHESIS OF SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME (SIDS): MAST CELL DEGRANULATION IN COT DEATH REVEALED BY ELEVATED CONCENTRATIONS OF TRYPTASE IN SERUM

Mary E. Bollinger DO1 and Robert A. Wood MD1

1 Baltimore, MD

This study found that elevated concentrations of serum tryptase are associated with sudden unexplained infant death, and this may be consistent with anaphylaxis as a mechanism in some cases of SIDS. Further studies are needed to determine if mast cell degeneration in these cases is secondary to terminal respiratory failure or some other event common to most cases of SIDS. The measurement of 9agr, 11beta-PGF2, as a specific marker of mast cell activation was not helpful under the conditions of this study.