A Connection Between the Zika Virus and Curing Brain Cancer?

Not long ago, Zika virus was dominating headlines. A new infection was hardly ever heard about before then, yet is now affecting hundreds of thousands of people in Latin America, causing disfiguration and microcephalia in new-born babies. Microcephalia is caused by severe delayed and abnormal development of the brain, resulting in the range of intellectual disability, dwarfism, poor motor functions and speech. With no cure or even preventive vaccination available, many women in the most affected regions were reportedly considering postponing any planned pregnancies. The virus was actually discovered back in 1947 in Zika forest in Uganda (and this is where its name comes from). The pathogen is related to better known viruses causing dengue and yellow fever. The disease is spread predominantly by one type of mosquito and was a rare occurrence until the epidemics of 2015–2016, when in Brazil alone well over 100,000 cases were reported. The disease caused particular concern as it coincided with the run-up to the 2016 Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro. Apart from mosquitoes, the virus can be spread through sexual contact and from mother to child during pregnancy or at delivery. The latter way of transmission is a particular concern: while adults suffer only very mild symptoms (fever and rush), children infected during pregnancy suffer major brain damage. The reason for this is that viral infection delays brain development. Further research identified a more specific reason: Zika v...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Brain and Behavior Brain Blogger Health-related Publishers Research brain cancer Delivery glioblastoma Immune System microcephalia Pregnancy Sexual Contact stem cells Zika virus Source Type: blogs