Imaging findings in congenital Zika virus infection syndrome: an update

Childs Nerv Syst. 2018 Jan;34(1):85-93. doi: 10.1007/s00381-017-3637-1. Epub 2017 Nov 27.

Abstract

Background: Zika virus (ZIKV) is a neurotropic and neurotoxic RNA Flavivirus prompt to cause severe fetal brain dysmorphisms during pregnancy, a period of rapid and critical central nervous system development. A wide range of clinico-radiological findings of congenital ZIKV infections were reported in the literature, such as microcephaly, overlapping sutures, cortical migrational and corpus callosum abnormalities, intracranial calcifications, ventriculomegaly, brain stem and cerebellar malformations, spinal cord involvement, and joint contractures. ZIKV is also related to other severe neurological manifestations in grown-up individuals such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and encephalomyelitis.

Purpose: Our purpose is to review the radiological central nervous system abnormalities of congenital ZIKV infection syndrome on different imaging modalities.

Keywords: Arthrogryposis; Brain calcifications; Congenital malformation; Microcephaly; Ventriculomegaly; ZIKV; Zika.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Eye / diagnostic imaging
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Microcephaly / diagnostic imaging
  • Nervous System Malformations / diagnostic imaging
  • Nervous System Malformations / etiology
  • Neuroimaging / methods*
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious
  • Tomography, X-Ray Computed
  • Ultrasonography
  • Zika Virus Infection / diagnostic imaging*