Tests on baby show gene link with cot death
Parents volunteered son’s DNA
WITH his big blue eyes and beautiful grin, Dexter Cook was his parents’ pride and joy.
But tragedy was to strike just weeks after the infant’s first birthday when his devastated mother and father found him dead in his cot.
Desperate to know why Dexter had been a victim of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), parents James Cook and Gemma Littley volunteered his DNA for a pioneering genetic test.
And in what could be a significant breakthrough for other families, medics discovered a rare gene mutation that causes the heart to beat irregularly.
The findings will now be investigated in depth to try to unlock the mystery surrounding the sudden deaths of about 300 UK babies each year.
Doctors warn that the discovery may not herald the arrival of an overall ‘gene for cot death’, but could provide an explanation in some cases.
Mr Cook, 37, a director of a recycling firm, said it was vital that they found out exactly why Dexter died. ‘Cot death is a term used to describe what happened, but not a reason why,’ he said.
‘If what the doctors have discovered from Dexter can help just one other family understand why their baby died then it will be fantastic – part of his legacy.
‘It’s not going to provide a reason for all 300 families who lose a child to cot death every year, but it’s starting point that hopefully scientists can build on.’
An inquest this week in Heywood, Greater Manchester, was told how Miss Littley found 13month-old Dexter not breathing when she checked on him in bed in May last year. Despite a neighbour’s attempts to resuscitate him, he was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
A post-mortem examination failed to provide an explanation, so the couple agreed to specialist genetic testing that has only been available on the NHS for around 12 months.
Miss Littley is now 32 weeks pregnant with another child, and doctors will carry out tests to see if the new arrival has the SCN3B gene mutation. If so, the heart condition can be treated with drugs or surgery.
The couple, from Oldham, Lancashire, have also set up the Dexter’s Light charity to raise money for children’s sensory equipment.
Dr Kay Metcalfe, a consultant geneticist at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester, discovered Dexter had a mutation in one of his genes. She told the hearing it was a ‘significant breakthrough’ for Dexter’s family but might not be ‘the answer for everyone’.