Ophthalmology researchers studying Brazilian babies with microcephaly — a Zika virus-related birth defect -- have found retinal lesions, hemorrhaging and abnormal blood vessel development that had not before been reported in relation to the virus.
The researchers from Brazil and Stanford University reportedly examined three infant boys from mothers with suspected Zika virus infections during the first trimester of pregnancy and had been born with microcephaly — a birth defect marked by smaller head and brain size. Among their findings, the researchers observed hemorrhagic retinopathy, abnormal vasculature in the retina, and torpedo maculopathy, as well as pigmentary maculopathy and symptoms of chorioretinal atrophy.
The findings are being published online today in Ophthalmology, journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
PHOTO: Torpedo maculopathy in babies with Zika-induced microcephaly. Courtesy Ophthalmology, journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Click here to read the full press release.
Source: American Academy of Ophthalmology