Microcephaly and ZIKA Virus: Certainty or Presumption

Abstract

The Zika virus has been associated with microcephaly since 2015 with established links based on the epidemic in Brazil, which affected several pregnant women. The purpose of this research was to demonstrate the link between Zika virus and microcephaly, through the analysis of the characteristics related to the virus, the theories of how it enters the organism and the clinical manifestations, which lead to neurological affectations. This is a descriptive, and transversal research. The main sources of information come from studies in various medical journals, which support the proposed ideas. Some proper virus characteristics were described, as: neurotropism, the capacity to cross the placental barrier and the ability to produce degeneration of the neuroprogenitor cells, which are complement to the above-mentioned theories. Likewise, molecular alterations in the structure of the virus, allowing the virus to interfere with the brain development of fetus in pregnant women. The clinical manifestation that produces Zika virus is called Severe Congenital Syndrome which includes manifestations in the newborn, such as, morphology of the skull, brain anomalies, congenital contractures and neurological sequelae. All the damage shown have been identified, thanks to neurological examinations to newborn, neuroimaging studies, neuropathology to the cranium and its tissue

Keywords

• stem cells
• fetal growth retardation
• mutation
• zika virus