Epilepsy is a frequent occurrence and is often difficult to treat in children with Zika-related microcephaly, according to new data published in Epilepsia. The study, which was conducted in Recife, Brazil, included 91 children born during the 2015–2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) epidemic, all of whom had congenital microcephaly associated with ZIKV infection. In the first 24 months of life in this cohort, the incidence of epilepsy was 71.4%, and only 46.1% of the affected children responded to antiepileptic drug treatment. Drug-refractory epilepsy has been widely reported in individuals with other types of brain malformation, such as lissencephaly, and the researchers propose that the seizures in children with Zika-related microcephaly could be related to structural brain abnormalities resulting from ZIKV infection.
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Carvalho, M. D. C. G. et al. Early epilepsy in children with Zika-related microcephaly in a cohort in Recife, Brazil: characteristics, electroencephalographic findings, and treatment response. Epilepsia https://doi.org/10.1111/epi.16444 (2020)
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Wood, H. High risk of epilepsy in children with Zika-related microcephaly. Nat Rev Neurol 16, 184 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-020-0337-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-020-0337-3