Though Zika virus remains mystifying, researchers at Johns Hopkins are learning more about the disease and its potential effects. Here is how some Johns Hopkins researchers are contributing to this effort:
Rita Driggers, medical director of maternal-fetal medicine for Sibley Memorial Hospital and associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at the school of medicine, recently published a case study that highlights brain changes that take place in a fetus infected with Zika virus. The study also suggests that Zika virus remains in the blood of a pregnant woman much longer than previously expected after her fetus has become infected.
Pediatric neuroradiologists Thierry Huisman and Andrea Poretti are collaborating with physicians and scientists in Brazil to understand the spectrum of brain defects and injuries in children with microcephaly associated with prenatal Zika virus infection. This collaboration resulted in a recent publication on head CT findings in children with microcephaly and congenital Zika virus infection. The team is evaluating brain MRI findings in children with confirmed prenatal Zika infection. In addition, the team is part of an international consortium that aims to develop an online data-sharing platform for head images of fetuses and newborns with congenital microcephaly and Zika virus infection.
The laboratories of neuroscientists and stem cell scientists Guo-li Ming and Hongjun Song simulate and study the effects of Zika virus on developing brains using human brain cells grown in the lab from induced pluripotent stem cells. Their research was the first to suggest that Zika causes microcephaly by attacking brain-building stem cells known as neural progenitor cells. More recent work centers on “mini-brains”—tiny, three-dimensional structures with many of the features of developing human brains.
Neurologist Carlos Pardo-Villamizar is the lead investigator for the Neuroviruses Emerging in the Americas Study conducted across multiple medical centers in Central, North and South Americas. The study aims to better understand the relationship between mosquito-borne viruses and nervous system diseases, such as Guillain-Barre syndrome. It also seeks to establish a comprehensive registry of medical profiles from patients with new onset of neurological diseases associated with mosquito-borne diseases.