The brain stem in sudden infant death syndrome. A postmortem survey.

Abnormal central neural regulation of respiration may be involved in the pathogenesis of the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). A retrospective investigation of brain-stem morphology in 34 SIDS victims compared to well-matched controls revealed medullary gliosis in the reticular formation in 12% and a single microglial nodule suggestive of a viral infection in one infant. These findings support the need for more extensive prospective neuropathological investigations in SIDS utilizing more sophisticated techniques.