Children With 'normal' Heads May Have Zika Brain Damage: Study
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published February 05, 2018 | 10:44 PM
Babies infected with Zika virus may suffer severe brain damage even if they do not display the signature symptom of an unusually small head, a study in monkeys suggested Monday
Paris, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 05th Feb, 2018 ) :Babies infected with Zika virus may suffer severe brain damage even if they do not display the signature symptom of an unusually small head, a study in monkeys suggested Monday.
This meant that brain-damaged children may be walking around undiagnosed and missing out on life-bettering therapy, scientists reported in the science journal Nature Medicine. "Current criteria using head size to diagnose Zika-related brain injury fail to capture more subtle brain damage that can lead to significant learning problems and mental health disorders later in life," said the study's lead author Kristina Waldorf of the University of Washington school of Medicine in Seattle.
"We are diagnosing only the tip of the iceberg," she said in a statement. Waldorf and a team analysed the brains of five growing macaque foetuses whose mothers they infected with Zika virus. Macaques are considered a close animal model for human pregnancy.
Only one of the monkey foetuses displayed physical abnormalities early on, but later MRI scans revealed that the brains of four of the five were not developing as they should.
Particularly hard hit were regions of the brain where new brain cells are generated.
"Subtle damage caused by this virus during foetal development or childhood may not be apparent for years, but may cause neurocognitive delays in learning and increase the risk of developing neurological disorders such as schizophrenia and early dementia," said Waldorf's colleague and study co-author, Lakshmi Rajagopal.
"These findings further emphasise the urgency for an effective vaccine to prevent Zika virus infection." Since Zika erupted on a large scale in mid-2015, more than 1.5 million people have been infected with the virus, mostly in Brazil and other countries in South America.
In most people, it causes no symptoms, or light ones such as an itchy rash. But it is very dangerous for foetuses more than 2,200 babies have been born with Zika-related microcephaly, a shrinking of the brain and skull, according to the World Health Organization. Many others died before birth.
Recent Stories
4-day book fair opens
30 wheelchairs donated
11 dead, 1295 injured in road accidents
46 vehicles impounded for traffic violations
PSX gains 771 points
PITB HR Wing organizes Eid Milan celebration for children at PITB Day Care Cente ..
Cabinet briefed on progress of PIA privatization
Meeting held to streamline trade between Pak-Afghan , Central Asian Republics
SONY x TECNO - is this for real?
Progress of Aaghosh, Bunyad, Khud Mukhtar programs discussed
SBP to announce monetary policy on April 29
London stocks hit new record peak on takeovers
More Stories From Science
-
China's Mars rover finds water evidence on the red planet: study
2 years ago -
China's top 10 advances in life sciences in 2021 unveiled
2 years ago -
Not quite $1: US chain Dollar Tree announces price hike
2 years ago -
Australian astronomers help solve galaxy "murder mystery"
3 years ago -
US-European Solar Orbiter Spacecraft Makes Venus Flyby - ESA
3 years ago -
Chinese scientists discover ultrahigh-energy cosmic accelerators in Milky Way
3 years ago
-
Universe becomes hotter over billions of years
3 years ago -
Researchers discover high-speed jet closest to black hole
4 years ago -
Scientists find gas on Venus linked to life on Earth
4 years ago -
Scientists find 'life harbouring' gas on Venus
4 years ago -
Scientists find way to track space junk in daylight
4 years ago -
Solar Orbiter gives scientists unprecedented look at Sun
4 years ago