Microcephaly News and Research

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Measuring head circumference (also known as occipito-frontal circumference) is a significant part of the proper evaluation of a child’s growth and development, as it represents a direct indication of head growth. Therefore deviations from normal head growth may reveal certain congenital or acquired problem.

Study shows urgent need for long-term follow up of Zika-exposed infants

Even as the Zika virus raged in Brazil, clinicians observed a curious phenomenon: all babies born to mothers infected with the virus during pregnancy were not affected with the characteristic birth anomalies caused by this infection.

5 Aug 2019

Paradoxical outcomes for infants exposed to Zika in utero

In the midst of an unprecedented Zika crisis in Brazil, there were a few flickers of hope: Some babies appeared to be normal at birth, free of devastating birth defects that affected other Brazilian children exposed to the virus in utero.

5 Aug 2019

Early neuroimaging essential for Zika-exposed infants

Seventy-one of 110 Brazilian infants at the highest risk for experiencing problems due to exposure to the Zika virus in the womb experienced a wide spectrum of brain abnormalities, including calcifications and malformations in cortical development, according to a study published July 31, 2019 in JAMA Network Open.

31 Jul 2019

New gene-editing study finds protective genes against Zika virus

Tel Aviv scientists have discovered certain genes that protect the host organism against attack by Zika virus, raising hopes of an eventual vaccine or cure for this dreaded viral disease.

28 Jul 2019

Researchers reveal molecular cause for severe multi-organ disorder

Three unrelated families on three continents (from continental Portugal, the United States and Brazil), all with healthy ancestors, had children with a very rare disease.

18 Jul 2019

Scientists develop universal FACS-based approach to heterogenous cell sorting, propelling organoid research

Researchers have developed three novel FACS protocols that can be used to isolate neural progenitors, astrocytes, and neurons from infected cerebral organoids.

19 Jun 2019

Texas Biomed awarded $2 million DOD grant to study promising Zika vaccine

The emerging Zika virus is a particular threat to pregnant women. The disease can be transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito and is associated with devastating birth defects, like microcephaly. No approved vaccine against the virus exists.

3 Jun 2019

Previous dengue infection could protect against Zika-associated damage

The Zika virus outbreak in Latin America has affected over 60 million people up to now. The infection can have potentially fatal consequences for pregnant women and their unborn children: many children have subsequently been born with malformations of the head, or so-called microcephaly.

18 May 2019

Study reveals long-term behavioral deficits after developmental Zika infection

Mice exposed to the Zika virus during later stages of gestation present behaviors reminiscent of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, according to a study of genetically diverse animals.

From Society for Neuroscience 14 May 2019

Long-standing immunosuppressive drug reduces Zika birth defects in mice

In experiments with pregnant mice infected with the Zika virus, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report they have successfully used a long-standing immunosuppressive drug to diminish the rate of fetal deaths and birth defects in the mice's offspring.

From Johns Hopkins Medicine 7 May 2019

Dengue mosquito poses greatest danger of spreading Zika virus in Australia

Researchers at QUT and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have found that the dengue fever mosquito common to north and central Queensland poses the greatest danger of spreading the Zika virus in Australia.

23 Apr 2019

New class of molecules could someday become basis for Zika-specific therapeutic

The Zika virus is widely known for causing microcephaly and other brain defects in the fetuses of pregnant, infected women.

4 Apr 2019

Researchers quantify link between Zika infection and microcephaly in Brazil

Women infected with Zika virus early in pregnancy are almost 17 times more likely to have a child with microcephaly, according to a study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Oliver Brady of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK, and colleagues.

6 Mar 2019

Scientists identify cause of devastating pediatric brain disorder

An international effort led by physician-scientists at Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, in collaboration with a team at the Montreal Children's Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre, has identified the cause of a devastating pediatric brain disorder paving the way for the first step in developing potential therapies for this rare neurodegenerative condition.

25 Feb 2019

Prior dengue virus infection increases Zika virus-induced damage during pregnancy

Women who have previously been infected with dengue virus may be at risk for increased damage to their fetuses and placentas if they should later become infected with the Zika virus, researchers from the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report.

11 Feb 2019

Largest description of ST3GAL5 deficiency combined using data from 104 individuals

Researchers have combined the largest description of ST3GAL5 deficiency using detailed natural history data from 104 individuals of Amish ancestry born between 1986 and 2017 with a definite or probable diagnosis of ST3GAL5 deficiency.

6 Feb 2019

Scientists are working to develop a new way to detect Zika virus

A collaboration of scientists including Professor Jean Patterson, Ph.D., of Texas Biomedical Research Institute, is working on a new way to detect Zika virus that will help guide clinicians in their treatment of patients with the disease.

28 Jan 2019

DZIF scientists reveal problems with available diagnostics for Zika and chikungunya virus

Millions of people have contracted Zika and chikungunya virus infections since the outbreaks that have been striking Latin America since 2013. Particularly Zika-related malformations in newborns warrant reliable diagnostics.

18 Jan 2019

Cellular protein that interacts with viruses appears to enable infection process of Zika virus

A cellular protein that interacts with invading viruses appears to help enable the infection process of the Zika virus, according to an international team of researchers who suggest this protein could be a key target in developing new therapies to prevent or treat Zika virus infection.

17 Jan 2019

KU Leuven scientists develop new vaccine against Zika virus

Scientists at the KU Leuven Rega Institute in Belgium have developed a new vaccine against the Zika virus. This vaccine should prevent the virus from causing microcephaly and other serious conditions in unborn babies.

19 Dec 2018