Zika Brain Defect

Researchers have found some existing drug compounds -- including one already used as a treatment for tapeworm infection in humans -- that have the potential to both stop Zika from replicating in the body and from damaging the crucial fetal brain cells that lead to birth defects in newborns.

A report released on Tuesday shows in graphic detail the kind of damage Zika infections can do to the developing brain - damage that goes well beyond the devastating birth defect known as microcephaly, in which the baby's head is smaller than normal.

Tens of thousands of babies may be born with debilitating Zika-related disorders in the course of the outbreak sweeping through Latin America and the Caribbean, researchers said today.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus, linked to serious birth defects, avoids immune system detection and directly infects the brain cells destined to become neurons, a new study has found.

Brazilian scientists studying possible links between birth defects and the mosquito-borne Zika virus have found that babies born with microcephaly have severe brain damage with a range of abnormalities.

U.S. health officials have concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies.

Brain scans of 23 Brazilian infants with the birth defect microcephaly showed widespread and severe abnormalities suggesting that Zika may invade fetal nerve cells and disrupt brain development.

Three ultrasounds done in the early weeks of pregnancy in a Finnish woman living in the United States infected by Zika failed to show signs of brain damage in a foetus later diagnosed with the birth defect microcephaly, U.S. researchers said in a study published on Wednesday.

A woman infected by the Zika virus during the first three months of pregnancy faces a one-in-100 chance her child will suffer severe brain damage, according to a study released Wednesday.

The Zika virus is capable of quickly infecting and harming developing fetal brain cells, scientists said on Friday in a study that provides insight into how the virus might cause the birth defect microcephaly in fetuses exposed in the womb.

A lab study has found that Zika can infect embryonic cells that help form the brain, adding to evidence that the virus causes a serious birth defect.

Some Brazilian babies born with birth defects linked to Zika virus also have severe eye problems in addition to brain damage, doctors reported Tuesday.

Zika, which the World Health Organization says is "spreading explosively" across the Americas, is transmitted by the same mosquitoes that also carry other tropical viruses such as dengue and yellow fever. Global health officials are alarmed because of its potential link to brain defects in infants as well as a rare syndrome that can lead to paralys...

The United States has reported its first case of a newborn suffering from brain damage linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus that has caused birth defects in Latin America.

Researchers have found some existing drug compounds -- including one already used as a treatment for tapeworm infection in humans -- that have the potential to both stop Zika from replicating in the body and from damaging the crucial fetal brain cells that lead to birth defects in newborns.

A report released on Tuesday shows in graphic detail the kind of damage Zika infections can do to the developing brain - damage that goes well beyond the devastating birth defect known as microcephaly, in which the baby's head is smaller than normal.

Tens of thousands of babies may be born with debilitating Zika-related disorders in the course of the outbreak sweeping through Latin America and the Caribbean, researchers said today.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus, linked to serious birth defects, avoids immune system detection and directly infects the brain cells destined to become neurons, a new study has found.

Brazilian scientists studying possible links between birth defects and the mosquito-borne Zika virus have found that babies born with microcephaly have severe brain damage with a range of abnormalities.

U.S. health officials have concluded that infection with the Zika virus in pregnant women is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies.

Brain scans of 23 Brazilian infants with the birth defect microcephaly showed widespread and severe abnormalities suggesting that Zika may invade fetal nerve cells and disrupt brain development.

Three ultrasounds done in the early weeks of pregnancy in a Finnish woman living in the United States infected by Zika failed to show signs of brain damage in a foetus later diagnosed with the birth defect microcephaly, U.S. researchers said in a study published on Wednesday.

A woman infected by the Zika virus during the first three months of pregnancy faces a one-in-100 chance her child will suffer severe brain damage, according to a study released Wednesday.

The Zika virus is capable of quickly infecting and harming developing fetal brain cells, scientists said on Friday in a study that provides insight into how the virus might cause the birth defect microcephaly in fetuses exposed in the womb.

A lab study has found that Zika can infect embryonic cells that help form the brain, adding to evidence that the virus causes a serious birth defect.

Some Brazilian babies born with birth defects linked to Zika virus also have severe eye problems in addition to brain damage, doctors reported Tuesday.

Zika, which the World Health Organization says is "spreading explosively" across the Americas, is transmitted by the same mosquitoes that also carry other tropical viruses such as dengue and yellow fever. Global health officials are alarmed because of its potential link to brain defects in infants as well as a rare syndrome that can lead to paralys...

The United States has reported its first case of a newborn suffering from brain damage linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus that has caused birth defects in Latin America.