Scientists in Brazil have discovered a new brain disorder caused by the Zika virus.
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How quickly the neural stem cells get infected with Zika virus became clear when the researchers detected Zika virus in the cells just 24 hours after they were exposed to the virus.
The Zika virus has already been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome, a condition in which the immune system attacks the nerves and can cause temporary paralysis and difficulty breathing.
The study examined six patients in Brazil who tested positive for the Zika virus and began to experience neurological symptoms within two weeks of their Zika diagnosis. Few published studies address the effects of DEET in pregnant women and their children – and none of the studies involved pregnant women in the first trimester, the period when most birth defects occur, according to the New York Times article.
It causes considerable swelling in the brain and spinal cord that harms the myelin sheath. The analysis required 151 individuals who visited her clinic between December 2014. These symptoms included fever followed by a rash, and in some cases, severe itching, muscle and joint pain and red eyes.
“What I’ve done is take money from other areas of non-Zika research to start”, Fauci said. Six people developed neurological symptoms that were consistent with autoimmune disorders and underwent examinations and blood tests. These patients underwent additional examination and blood testing.
The researchers found that two of these six patients had developed ADEM. In both ADEM circumstances, mind scans confirmed injury to white matter. When discharged from the hospital, five patients still had movement problems, one still had vision problems and one still had memory and thinking problems.
Brito Ferreira repeated a common refrain of Zika research: the research is early and still inconclusive, and meant to add to the growing investigation to discover what the virus actually does. “Of those who have nervous-system problems, most do not have brain symptoms”, Ferreira said.
However, “these findings from Brazil suggest that clinicians should be vigilant for the possible occurrence of ADEM and other immune-mediated illnesses of the central nervous system”, Sejvar said in the news release.
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The warnings – delivered by Schuchat and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci – came amid another funding dispute between the Obama administration and Congress. The administration last week announced that money left over from the fight against Ebola would go to combating Zika virus, as President Obama seeks a larger amount in emergency funding which has not yet been approved in Congress.
