Zika has been linked already to Guillain-Barre syndrome another autoimmune disorder that attacks the peripheral nerves on the outside of the brain and the spinal cord and causes a temporary paralysis that in certain cases requires patients to be put on respirators to breath.
Advertisement
She said Zika can also cause birth defects beyond microcephaly, a condition in which a baby’s head and brain are too small. Extraordinarily tiny brains that can result in developmental problems define microcephaly. Brazil is carrying out an investigation of close 4,300 additional cases its suspects are related to microcephaly. Researchers mapped the entire genome of the virus and discovered eight mutations, which distinguish this virus from the Zika strains previously reported in Central America.
“Though our research is tiny, it could provide evidence that in this instance, herpes has unique outcomes around the mind than these identified in present studies”, Dr. Maria Lucia Brito, a neurologist at Repair Hospital in Recife, Brazil, mentioned in a statement. It’s an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord that damages the protective fatty myelin layer that covers nerve cells.
The syndrome, called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM, is similar to symptoms of multiple sclerosis, causing weakness, numbness and loss of balance and vision.
The findings of the study are due to be presented to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Vancouver, Canada on 15 April 15, and as such will likely be viewed as preliminary findings until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. The analysis required 151 individuals who visited her clinic between December 2014.
Six of these people developed symptoms in line with autoimmune disorders. In both cases, brain scans showed signs of damage to the brain’s white matter. ADEM symptoms generally last about 6 months.
When they were discharged from the hospital, five of the six people still had problems with motor functioning.
Ferreira later noted that the study, “doesn’t mean that all people infected with Zika will experience these brain problems”, but that it may shed light on the virus’ “lingering effects” in the brain.
“The more and more you learn the more and more you get concerned”, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at the same briefing.
Advertisement
“We are quite concerned about Puerto Rico, where the virus is spreading throughout the island”, Schuchat said.
