The pineal gland in sudden infant death syndrome: preliminary observations.

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) affects infants between 1 month and 1 yr of age, has no known cause, and is diagnosed by exclusion of all other causes of death. The primary mechanism of death in SIDS is considered to be irreversible respiratory cessation during sleep. In a small sampling at necropsy we have observed a statistically significant (P less than .005; determined morphometrically) reduction in the anatomic size of the pineal gland in SIDS infants, as compared to age-matched controls. Whether correspondingly altered pineal glandular function is present in SIDS is as yet unanswered.