Apnea, Central Sleep

Sequeiros and Martins da Silva (1988) studied a large family with 6 cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS; 272120) and at least 4 cases of infantile sleep apnea ('near-miss SIDS') that occurred in 2 successive generations. They postulated that a structural CNS defect or a delay in maturation inherited in an autosomal dominant manner predisposes to SIDS in this family, with peak risk at about age 3 months. Survivors may suffer from recurrent episodes of infantile apnea or be completely asymptomatic. Somnograms remained abnormal as late as age 5 years.