Alterations in these cells, which are precursors of brain cells and become cortical neurons in embryos and fetuses, may be a cause
of microcephaly in babies whose mothers have been infected by Zika.
Zika made international headlines when it was linked to an epidemic of babies born with
microcephaly in Brazil.
To evaluate the ocular findings in infants
with microcephaly associated with presumed intrauterine ZIKV infection in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Since ZIKV has been gradually established as a direct cause of central nervous system malformations, this study help to elucidate the etiological nature of the recently increasing number of
microcephaly cases in Brazil.
Earlier on Friday, U.S. health officials published a study estimating that as many as 270 babies in Puerto Rico may be born with the severe birth defect known
as microcephaly caused by Zika infections in their mothers during pregnancy.
Nearly 500 New Yorkers have been diagnosed with Zika since the outbreak began — 49 of whom were pregnant women that run the risk of severe birth defects
including microcephaly developing in their babies.
But the virus has also been linked to an autoimmune disease that can cause paralysis called Guillain — Barré syndrome as well as an alarming surge in a birth defect
called microcephaly in Brazil.
Treating the link between Zika virus and diseases
like microcephaly as «guilty unless proven innocent» may help to aid public health responses.
Objective To evaluate the ocular findings in infants with
microcephaly associated with presumed intrauterine ZIKV infection in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Some babies may be born with a normal head size, but may have underlying brain abnormalities, experience slow head growth and
develop microcephaly after birth, she said.
«Our research paves the way to explore therapeutic approaches
for microcephaly involving the inhibition of the protein p53,» says the head of the Genomic Instability and Cancer Lab at IRB Barcelona.
They represent the greatest health crisis because a Zika infection during the first trimester confers the greatest risk of
congenital microcephaly.»
Even with this new finding, the Chinese researchers still concede their study is likely not the final word on what causes Zika -
linked microcephaly.
Faria et al show that samples
from microcephaly cases are distributed around the evolutionary tree, which strongly argues against (although again can't absolutely disprove) this idea.
The ophthalmic features with unique anatomical characteristics may help to identify CZS in patients born
without microcephaly.»
Between October 2015 and February 2016, several cases of suspected
fetal microcephaly associated with maternal ZIKV infection in the first half of pregnancy were referred to the fetal medicine service of the Instituto Paraibano de Pesquisa Professor Joaquim Amorim Neto (IPESQ) in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil.
«Zika virus may cause
microcephaly by hijacking human immune molecule: Fetal brain model provides first clues on how Zika virus blunts brain development; blocking mechanism reduces cell damage.»
The team's results may begin to answer an outstanding question from the Zika epidemic: Why have Zika -
related microcephaly and other brain abnormalities been seen in areas hard - hit by outbreaks in the past few years but not in the decades following the virus's discovery in 1947?
«Immune molecule protects against Zika virus infection in animal models: Molecule also protects against Zika -
induced microcephaly in mouse model.»
One approach to finding the genes involved in brain expansion has been to investigate the causes of
primary microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with a brain one - third of the normal size, with the cortex particularly undersized.
The new report suggests that, as in Brazil, Zika virus bears blame for Colombia's
microcephaly epidemic too.
Although Brazil is the only country to report a spike in
microcephaly during the current outbreak, French Polynesia in 2014 saw a rise in this rare disorder concurrent with viral spread, Chan said.
To our knowledge, most of the previously reported
neonatal microcephaly cases (eg, birth head circumference less than the third percentile for sex and gestational age14) were associated with the manifestation of ZIKV infection symptoms in the first trimester of pregnancy.1, 2,5 Quiz Ref ID Microcephaly was not the only fetal abnormality observed, and other findings were documented later.
The team who found a range of fetal conditions
beyond microcephaly, all linked to the virus, suggest calling it Zika virus congenital syndrome
For example, MCPH1 and ASPM cause
microcephaly when mutated, FOXP2 causes speech defects, and all three show signs of selection pressure during human, but not chimp, evolution.
The report demonstrates phenotypic variability in regard to the presence of
observed microcephaly as well as the degree of brain damage and affected brain structures with congenital ZIKV infection.
This prospective study was conducted in Campina Grande, the second largest city in the state of Paraíba, which has reported the second highest prevalence of
microcephaly at birth in Brazil.
This problem has bedeviled researchers studying many brain conditions, and it was a particular barrier in research
on microcephaly.
The Society for Maternal - Fetal Medicine released a statement on the use of ultrasound screening for fetal
microcephaly following Zika virus exposure.
While a link
between microcephaly and Zika infections has not been proven, there's evidence to suggest the virus may be passed from mothers to their babies via the placenta.
However, the growing belief that Zika can also
trigger microcephaly in babies born to mothers infected while pregnant has spread international alarm.
Now, Iwasaki wants to study interferon levels at different time points during pregnancy, which could give clues to
how microcephaly and other major health issues associated with Zika develop.
In Brazil, thousands of babies have been born with
microcephaly after their mothers were infected with Zika virus.
But he still
finds microcephaly a compelling hypothesis to explain the hobbit's puny brain.
Christianson syndrome (CS) is a novel, X-linked developmental brain disorder, clinically recognized by the symptoms of global developmental delay, intellectual disability, ataxia, epilepsy, non - or minimally verbal status, ophthalmoplegia and most often postnatal microcephaly [1].
Microcephaly or
postnatal microcephaly, which is when a baby is born with, or within 6 - 12 months has, a very small head and brain.
If microcephaly was being driven by some particularly nasty mutation, the cases would be more clustered together (on the tree, if not necessarily in space and time).
This experimental proof that the Zika virus caused
microcephaly came quite rapidly, and other teams working with Zika have continued to use organoids to test therapeutic interventions and to probe why only some strains of the virus appear to result in the condition.
The MMWR update, co-authored by scientists from CDC and Colombia's ministry of health and national institute of health, offers «preliminary information» about 476 cases of
microcephaly identified over the last 11 months.
Taking that child out of the calculation suggests that hearing loss in Zika - induced
microcephaly occurs in about 6 percent of cases.
Scientists have
studied microcephaly in mice to better understand the condition in humans, but learning about human disorders from mice can be tricky.
Since first detected in April 2014, there have been over 4,000 births of babies with
suspected microcephaly in Brazil, compared with a previous yearly average of 154.
It covered all babies born with
microcephaly delivered in eight public hospitals in Brazil's north - eastern Pernambuco State between January 15 and May 2 this year.
Mothers and families of infants born with congenital anomalies (
e.g. microcephaly) should be supported to breastfeed their infants in line with WHO recommendations.
Phrases with «microcephaly»