VITREOUS-HUMOR HYPOXANTHINE LEVELS IN SIDS AND INFECTIOUS DEATH

Hypoxanthine concentrations in vitreous humor were determined in 107 c ases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and compared with levels i n 4 cases of borderline SIDS, 26 cases of infectious death and 16 case s of sudden violent death. The hypoxanthine measurements were made usi ng a highperformance liquid chromatography method. The hypoxanthine le vels were significantly (p < 0.01) higher in SIDS than in violent deat hs, while no significant difference was found between SIDS and infecti ous deaths. The present report demonstrates a similar distribution pat tern of hypoxanthine levels in vitreous humor in SIDS and infectious d eath. We have previously described signs of immune stimulation both in peripheral organs and in the central nervous system in these conditio ns. This indicates that the death mechanism in SIDS has some similarit ies with infectious death,