title: Investigation into the correlation in SIDS victims between Alzheimer precursor protein A4 in the brainstem and sleep apnea.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recently, the appearance of beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) has been demonstrated in the neonatal brain following hypoxic-ischaemic injury. As chronic hypoxia is one of the favoured theories of causation in the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the correlation between APP in the brainstem and sleep apnea in SIDS was investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Among 27,000 infants studied prospectively to characterize their sleep-wake behavior, 38 infants died under 6 months of age, which included 26 cases of SIDS. All the infants had been recorded during one night in a pediatric sleep laboratory, some 3 to 12 weeks before death. The frequency and duration of sleep apnea were analyzed. The brainstem material was collected and immunohistochemistry with anti-Alzheimer precursor protein A4 (APP) was carried out. The density of APP-positive elements was measured semi-quantitatively. Correlation analyses were carried out between the density of APP-positive elements and the data on sleep apnea.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No correlation was found.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  No correlation between pathological data of APP and physiological data of sleep apnea was not in agreement with the association of sleep apnea in pathophysiology of SIDS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Legal Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University School of Medicine, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan. tsawagu@research.twmu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Toshiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sawaguchi
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Patricia
authors.forename: Hazim
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kadhim
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Groswasser
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sottiaux
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sawaguchi
authors.forename: Andre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kahn
mesh_terms: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000378:metabolism*; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D002534:Hypoxia, Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D016683:Supine Position
chemical_list: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor