Fatty acid oxidation disorders as primary cause of sudden and unexpected death in infants and young children: an investigation performed on cultured fibroblasts from 79 children who died aged between 0-4 years

Disorders of fatty acid metabolism are known to be responsible for cases of sudden and unexpected death in infancy. At least 14 disorders are known at present. 120 cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) had been examined for a prevalent mutation (G985) causing medium chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase deficiency, which is inherited in an autosomal recessive mode. No over-representation of either homozygous or heterozygous cases was found.