On Jan. 22, 2025, researchers from the University of Virginia School of Medicine reported revealing the fingerprints of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) within blood samples that could open the door to simple tests to identify babies at risk.

The findings also represent an important step forward in unraveling the causes of SIDS, an unexplained condition that is the No. 1 killer of babies between a month and a year old. In their SIDS work, the UVA researchers analyzed blood serum samples collected from 300 babies included in the Chicago Infant Mortality Study and the National Institutes of Health’s NeuroBioBank.

The researchers assessed levels of 828 different metabolites in key biological processes such as nerve cell communication, stress response and hormone regulation – processes that could be contributors to SIDS.

After adjusting for factors that could bias the results, such as the infants’ age, sex, and race and ethnicity, the researchers identified 35 predictors of SIDS. These “biomarkers” included ornithine, a substance critical to the body’s ability to dispose of ammonia in urine. The amino acid has already been identified as a potential contributor to SIDS. Another predictor was a lipid metabolite that is critical for brain and lung health. This metabolite is already considered a potential indicator for the development of fetal heart defects during the first trimester of pregnancy.

The UVA scientists caution that further research is needed to determine if the metabolites are contributing to SIDS. But the findings lay an important foundation, they say, for unraveling the mysteries of SIDS and developing blood tests that could potentially save new parents from heartbreak. The researchers published their findings in the scientific journal eBioMedicine.