Zika Virus Could Have Alzheimer's-Like Effect in Adults - Science - News - The Independent

Zika virus could have Alzheimer's-like effect in adults | Science |...
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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/zika-alzheimers-effec...
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Zika virus could have Alzheimer's-like

effect in adults
Further work must be done to establish how lasting the damage
might be, scientists have cautioned
Andrew Griffin | @_andrew_griffin | Friday 19 August 2016 | !
An Aedes aegypti mosquito is seen through a microscope at en exhibition on Dengue fever on

January 28, 2016 in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. The mosquito transmits the Zika virus, as well
as Dengue Mario Tama/Getty Images
Zika can wreak havoc on the brains of adults and cause major,
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overthrow the assumption that the virus is only of major worry to

pregnant women.
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Until now, the mosquito-borne infection has been primarily

linked to microcephaly, a serious defect where babies are born
with small heads and brain damage. That has mean that pregnant
women were warned to avoid coming into contact with the
infection but others have shown no obvious symptoms.
But a major new study on mice indicates that the impact of the
Zika infection in other adults could be far more serious and
sinister than had previously been thought.
Experiments on adult mice engineered to mimic human Zika
infection show that the virus seems to attack immature cells in
the adult brain. Those same cells are vital to learning and
memory and so losing them could have disastrous eects,
comparable to those experienced by people with Alzheimers.
& Battling the zika virus - in pictures
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Over time, the gradual attack on those cells could lead to

shrinkage of the brain and major impairment of cognitive
processes, the scientist behind the study said.
Professor Sujan Shresta, a member of the team from the La Jolla
Institute of Allergy and Immunology in California, USA, said:
"Zika can clearly enter the brain of adults and can wreak havoc.
But it's a complex disease - it's catastrophic for early brain
development, yet the majority of adults who are infected with
Zika rarely show detectable symptoms.
"Its eect on the adult brain may be more subtle, and now we
know what to look for."
READ MORE
One in four in Puerto Rico are expected to get the Zika virus
The study is the rst to look at the way that Zika attacks the adult
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that could indicate where in the brain was invaded by the virus.
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The scientists saw those attacks taking place in parts of the brain
that are central to learning and memory, they write in the study
published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.
Professor Joseph Gleeson, from Rockefeller University, said:
"Our results are pretty dramatic - in the parts of the brain that lit
up, it was like a Christmas tree.
"It was very clear that the virus wasn't aecting the whole brain
evenly, like people are seeing in the foetus. In the adult, it's only
these two populations that are very specic to the stem cells that
are aected by virus. These cells are special, and somehow very
susceptible to the infection.
"Based on our ndings, getting infected with Zika as an adult
may not be as innocuous as people think."
Healthy people might be able to resist those attacks. But people
who already have weakened immune systems could be at risk.
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Zika virus could spread to Europe say WHO
"In more subtle cases, the virus could theoretically impact

long-term memory or risk of depression, but tools do not exist to
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said Professor Gleeson.
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The scientists still arent sure the extent to which the behaviour
in mice could apply to humans, or how permanent any damage
sustained as a result of the virus might be. But they say that
further work must be done to nd out if Zika could cause long
term mental impairment in adults.
"The virus seems to be travelling quite a bit as people move
around the world," says Professor Gleeson. "Given this study, I
think the public health enterprise should consider monitoring for
Zika infections in all groups, not just pregnant women."
More about: | Zika | Zika virus
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