Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology
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Comparative Study
Elevated serum concentrations of beta-tryptase, but not alpha-tryptase, in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). An investigation of anaphylactic mechanisms.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, (SIDS) or cot death, remains the most common category of post-perinatal death in the UK. By definition, the cause of death is unknown, but a long-standing theory is that some of these deaths could be the result of anaphylaxis. ⋯ In a proportion of SIDS victims there may be increased serum levels of beta-like tryptase, a marker for anaphylaxis. The failure to detect an increase in alpha-tryptase would suggest that mast cell hyperplasia is not a feature of cot death. The nature of the inciting agents remains unclear, but anaphylaxis deserves serious consideration as a possible cause of sudden death in infancy.