GJA1 gene variations in sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome in the Chinese Han population

Sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome, first described as the term of “SUNDS” among South Asian immigrants in the USA [1], is characterized by sudden unexplained death occurred during sleep in ostensibly healthy people, most of whom are young males in age 20-50 years old [2]. Standard forensic autopsy, histopathology examination, toxicological analysis, and death- scene investigation show no identifiable morphological changes to explain the underlying cause of death. SUNDS is prevalent predominantly in Thailand, Philipines, Japan, and southern China of southeast Asia [2–4], and was called with different synonyms according to specific countries, such as“La i Tai” in Thailand [2,5], “Bangungut” in the Philippines [3,6], “pokkuri death syndrome” in Japan [4], and “sudden manhood death syndrome” in China [7,8].

Source: Forensic Science International - December 8, 2016 Category: Forensic Medicine Authors: Qiuping Wu, Yeda Wu, Liyong Zhang, Jinxiang Zheng, Shuangbo Tang, Jianding Cheng Source Type: research