Sentences with phrase «heads of microcephaly»

«Studies of fetuses and babies with the telltale small brains and heads of microcephaly in Zika - affected areas have found abnormalities in the cortex, and Zika virus has been found in the fetal tissue,» says Guo - li Ming, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of neurology, neuroscience, and psychiatry and behavioral science at Johns Hopkins» Institute for Cell Engineering.

Not exact matches

One of the reasons it's been so troubling is that it's a cause of a serious birth defect called microcephaly, in which the head of babies whose mothers have been infected with Zika during pregnancy are abnormally small.

In April, the CDC confirmed that Zika is a cause of microcephaly, a condition in which the head is born abnormally small.

One reason Zika is troubling is that it is a cause of birth defects, including microcephaly — a condition where the baby's head is abnormally small — in babies whose mothers have had Zika.

When the virus infects a pregnant woman, it can cause a variety of birth defects including microcephaly, where the baby's head is abnormally small.

One reason Zika is troubling is because it is a cause of birth defects, including microcephaly — a condition where the baby's head is abnormally small — in babies whose mothers have had Zika.

The outbreak of Zika, a mosquito - borne disease, was detected last year in Brazil, where it has been linked to more than 1,700 cases of microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems.

The WHO says there is strong scientific consensus that Zika is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly, or small heads in babies, as well as Guillain - Barre syndrome, a neurological disorder.

Now, it is being deployed to monitor the Zika as it spreads beyond Brazil, where reports last August of fetal deaths and newborns with brain disorders including microcephaly, a devastating condition that results in abnormally small brains and heads, began to trickle in.

Researchers have linked Zika virus to microcephaly — a birth defect affecting the heads and brains of infants born to infected mothers.

An association between Zika infections during pregnancy and the birth of babies with microcephaly (a birth defect in which an infant's brain does not develop properly resulting in a smaller than normal head) was first suggested by Brazilian physicians in August 2015, and in November microcephaly cases potentially associated with Zika started to be recorded; three months later WHO made its announcement.

The finding of virus in the brain could also be important, since the most devastating impact of the current outbreak in Brazil appears to be children of infected mothers born with microcephaly — abnormally small heads and, in some cases, incomplete brain development.

«As we learn more about the consequences of Zika infection, including the recent revelation that babies of Zika - infected mothers who had normal head sizes at birth have been diagnosed with microcephaly months later, it is vital that we know this enemy and remain vigilant in protecting ourselves,» Diaz concludes.

But the Brazilian government is now warning that the virus may be responsible for a dramatic increase in cases of microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which the brain fails to develop properly and the head is much smaller than normal.

In humans, Zika virus infection during pregnancy has been linked to a suite of birth defects including a condition known as microcephaly, which leaves babies with shrunken heads and brains (SN: 4/2/16, p. 26).

The findings — so far observed only in cells and minibrains grown in the lab — offer a possible explanation for the misshapen heads that are the hallmark of microcephaly, a condition that afflicts some babies infected with Zika.

The study comes in the wake of an ongoing Zika epidemic and an explosion of cases involving fetal death, microcephaly (born with severely decreased head size), and other congenital birth defects.

Cases of both Zika virus and microcephaly — the potentially related occurrence of babies born with small - sized heads and associated neurological complications — will continue to increase across the Americas, said a panel of public health experts at a 12 February news briefing at the AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Since 2016 thousands of children across South America have been born with microcephaly, which causes abnormally small heads, after their mothers became infected with the Zika virus during pregnancy.

In cases of microcephaly, the baby's head is exceptionally small, due to an underdeveloped brain.

Previously, children with typical facial features, growth restriction and / or microcephaly (small head size) could be given a diagnosis of FASD without neurobehavioral impairment (i.e., behavioral or cognitive abnormalities that can not be explained by genetics, family background, or environment).

Although Zika infections typically cause only mild symptoms, concerns have been heightened by Brazil's reports of an unusual increase in microcephaly — unusually small head size — in babies born in areas where the virus is circulating.

Besides microcephaly, experts say some of the affected children have joint malformation or brain malformation, though their heads are normal - sized.

There is little doubt that a strain of the virus is responsible for the surge in Brazilian babies born with unusually small heads, or microcephaly.

The studies add to the understanding of how the virus appears to be linked to the thousands of babies in Brazil who are being born with microcephaly, a condition marked by an abnormally small head and that appear to be accompanied by brain defects in many cases related to Zika.

The main birth defect attributed to Zika is microcephaly, a rare neurological condition in which an infant is born with a much smaller head — an effect of abnormal brain development.

The 3 largest case series of infants with microcephaly also reporting congenital contractures found that, among 35, 48, and 52 infants with microcephaly and presumed congenital ZIKV infection, isolated clubfoot occurred in 14 %, 10.4 %, and 3.8 % and arthrogryposis in 11 %, 10.4 %, and 5.7 %, respectively.36 - 38 Among a series of 104 infants under clinical investigation, 7 (6.7 %) with presumed (5 infants) and laboratory - confirmed (2 infants) congenital ZIKV infection had arthrogryposis; 6 of these infants had a head circumference of at least 2 SD below the mean.41 All had bilateral congenital hip dislocation, which previously has been reported to occur in 30 % to 40 % of children with arthrogryposis of various etiologies and 3 of 7 had dislocation or partial dislocation of 1 or both knees.41, 57

Structural eye anomalies (in particular, microphthalmia and coloboma), cataracts, intraocular calcifications, and posterior ocular findings have been reported in infants with presumed and laboratory - confirmed prenatal ZIKV infection; however, posterior findings have been the most prevalent.21,25,28,33,35,36,41 - 43 Case series report chorioretinal atrophy, focal pigmentary mottling of the retina, and optic nerve atrophy / anomalies.28, 34,37,41 - 43,55 Series of 20 or more infants with presumed ZIKV - associated microcephaly report ocular findings in 24 % to 55 %.28, 33,42 In one study, testing for ZIKV IgM was performed in 24 of 40 infants (60 %) with microcephaly and the results were positive in the cerebrospinal fluid in 100 % of those tested.42 The proportion of infants with ocular lesions did not differ in those with and without testing.42 In that series, first trimester maternal infection and smaller head circumference significantly correlated with the presence of abnormal ocular findings.42

Understanding Zika's mechanisms will illuminate how viral infection leads to birth defects such as microcephaly, a condition marked by an abnormally small head and brain size, and could inform the development of therapies and vaccines, the study authors said.

Brazil has reported the vast majority of cases of a Zika - linked birth defect called microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and malformed brains.

The most devastating of these defects is microcephaly — when infants are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

Eleven of these babies were diagnosed with microcephaly — an abnormally small head and brain — and other neurologic complications associated with Zika syndrome, the researchers reported.

Expectant mothers are most at risk because of Zika's known link to birth defects (especially microcephaly, where a baby's head is smaller than normal at birth).

In the case of the Zika virus, most prevalent in northeastern Brazil, there is no cure for the microcephaly that results in a baby's head being too small and the brain underdeveloped.