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S cases have increased levels of interleukin‐6 in cerebrospinal fluid
Author(s) -
Vege Å,
Rognum TO,
Scott H,
Aasen AO,
Saugstad OD
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1995.tb13608.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cerebrospinal fluid , sudden infant death syndrome , immune system , immunology , central nervous system , interleukin , respiratory system , cytokine , pathology , pediatrics
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 20 infants who died of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), 7 cases of infectious death and 5 cases of violent death were examined with respect to concentrations of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6). The measurements were performed by ELISA. IL‐6 levels in SIDS were significantly lower than in infectious death (p < 0.02), but significantly higher than in violent death (p < 0.02). Since IL‐6 plays an important role in immune responses and may induce fever, the findings may suggest that immune activation plays a role in SIDS. The presence of cytokines in the central nervous system (CNS) may cause respiratory depression, especially in vulnerable infants.