Cerebral white matter lesions in sudden infant death syndrome.

In 21.6% of infants who died of sudden infant death syndrome, the cerebral white matter showed areas of leukomalacia. Of those infants with congenital heart disease, 24.8% had lesions, whereas 4.4% of infants who died from known acute causes had lesions. The sites of the cerebral white matter lesions, subcortical or periventricular, seem to be related to the age of the infant.