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Nicotine-Induced Sudden Infant Death Syndrome May Be Prevented By Simple Drug Treatment 

A new study has identified a specific class of pharmaceutical drugs that could be effective in treating babies vulnerable to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), because their mothers smoked during pregnancy.

According to researchers at McMaster University, exposure of the fetus to nicotine results in the inability to respond to decreases in oxygen - known as hypoxia - which may result in a higher incidence of SIDS. In the same study on rats, they found that the diabetic medication 'glibenclamide' can reverse the effects of nicotine exposure, increasing the newborn's ability to respond to hypoxia and likely reducing the incidence of SIDS.

The findings are published in the Journal of Neuroscience.

"During birth the baby rapidly changes its physiology and anatomy so that it can breathe on its own," explains Josef Buttigieg, lead author who conducted his research as a PhD graduate student in the department of Biology. "The stress of being born induces the release of the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline - collectively called catecholamines - from the adrenal glands. During birth, these hormones in turn signal the baby's lungs to become ready for air breathing."

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