Frontiers in Genetics (Mar 2022)

Neurodevelopment in Children Exposed to Zika in utero: Clinical and Molecular Aspects

  • Lavínia Schuler-Faccini,
  • Lavínia Schuler-Faccini,
  • Miguel del Campo,
  • Alfredo García-Alix,
  • Liana O. Ventura,
  • Juliano André Boquett,
  • Vanessa van der Linden,
  • André Pessoa,
  • André Pessoa,
  • Hélio van der Linden Júnior,
  • Camila V. Ventura,
  • Mariana Carvalho Leal,
  • Thayne Woycinck Kowalski,
  • Thayne Woycinck Kowalski,
  • Lais Rodrigues Gerzson,
  • Carla Skilhan de Almeida,
  • Lucélia Santi,
  • Lucélia Santi,
  • Walter O. Beys-da-Silva,
  • Walter O. Beys-da-Silva,
  • André Quincozes-Santos,
  • Jorge A. Guimarães,
  • Patricia P. Garcez,
  • Julia do Amaral Gomes,
  • Fernanda Sales Luiz Vianna,
  • Fernanda Sales Luiz Vianna,
  • André Anjos da Silva,
  • André Anjos da Silva,
  • Lucas Rosa Fraga,
  • Lucas Rosa Fraga,
  • Maria Teresa Vieira Sanseverino,
  • Maria Teresa Vieira Sanseverino,
  • Alysson R. Muotri,
  • Rafael Lopes da Rosa,
  • Alberto Mantovani Abeche,
  • Alberto Mantovani Abeche,
  • Clairton Marcolongo-Pereira,
  • Diogo O. Souza

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.758715
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13

Abstract

Read online

Five years after the identification of Zika virus as a human teratogen, we reviewed the early clinical manifestations, collectively called congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). Children with CZS have a very poor prognosis with extremely low performance in motor, cognitive, and language development domains, and practically all feature severe forms of cerebral palsy. However, these manifestations are the tip of the iceberg, with some children presenting milder forms of deficits. Additionally, neurodevelopment can be in the normal range in the majority of the non-microcephalic children born without brain or eye abnormalities. Vertical transmission and the resulting disruption in development of the brain are much less frequent when maternal infection occurs in the second half of the pregnancy. Experimental studies have alerted to the possibility of other behavioral outcomes both in prenatally infected children and in postnatal and adult infections. Cofactors play a vital role in the development of CZS and involve genetic, environmental, nutritional, and social determinants leading to the asymmetric distribution of cases. Some of these social variables also limit access to multidisciplinary professional treatment.

Keywords