Mannan binding lectin and the sudden infant death syndrome

Mannan binding lectin (MBL) may be important for innate immunity and some c ases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) may be preceded by bacterial in fection. Therefore, relative MBL deficiency might be associated with suscep tibility to SIDS. We measured MBL concentrations in 46 SIDS infants and 26 controls. The proportion of subjects with low MBL values was similar in the two groups. However, the mean for the SIDS group (3 mu g/ml) was higher th an that of the controls (2.2 mu g/ml; P<0.05). We interpret this difference as due to acute phase responses and suggest these findings are consistent with the view that some cot deaths are preceded by bacterial infections. (C ) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd All rights reserved.