[Changes in the adrenals in the sudden death syndrome in infants].
Adrenal glands of 52 children dying from a syndrome of sudden death (SSD) and 14 children of the same age dying from acute viral respiratory infections (AVRI) with a long terminal period were studied. The following adrenal changes typical for the SSD were observed: low weight, decrease of the size of the definitive cortex and its zones, the appearance of numerous adenomatous growths in the definitive cortex and so-called giant cells in the fetal cortex, low secretory activity. The appearance of adenomas and giant cells in the presence of organ hypoplasia is a compensatory-hyperplastic adrenal response which attests to a long glucocorticoid deficiency in the SSD. It is suggested that the deficiency of these hormones leads to the metabolic disturbances in various organs, including brain, resulting in the narrowing of the range of homeostatic host responses; this may become the cause of sudden death when the clinical and morphological manifestations of AVRI are insignificant.
D000208:Acute Disease; D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000172:deficiency; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000473:pathology; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000473:pathology
D005938:Glucocorticoids
Izmeneniia nadpochechnikov pri sindrome vnezapnoĭ smerti u deteĭ.