A recent study published in the journal Neurology suggests that brief seizures accompanied by muscle convulsions may be a possible cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The study, conducted by researchers at NYU Langone, provides the first direct evidence indicating that seizures might be responsible for some sudden deaths in children, particularly those that occur during sleep. SIDS, also known as “crib death,” usually affects infants under 6 months of age, occurring during sleep. In older children, similar inexplicable events are classified as sudden unexplained death in children (SUDC).
Gould helped to establish the SUDC Registry and Research Collaborative at NYU Langone after losing her 15-month-old daughter Maria to SUDC in 1997.
Her team of researchers at New York University studied more than 300 SUDC cases in the registry, examining medical records and even video recordings of the babies sleeping, along with seven cases where death was considered likely to have been caused by seizures.
The footage showed that the convulsions were found to have lasted for less than 60 seconds — and that the unfortunate events took place within 30 minutes of the child’s death. A recent study published
The study’s senior investigator and neurologist, Dr. Orrin Devinsky, expressed that convulsive seizures could be the crucial piece of evidence that medical science has been seeking to understand sudden deaths in children. Investigating this phenomenon may not only shed light on SUDC but also provide critical insights into other related deaths, including those from SIDS and epilepsy. Previous research had already identified a link between SUDC and seizures, with individuals who experienced febrile seizures (seizures accompanied by fever) being 10 times more likely to face sudden and unexpected death.