WASHINGTON — Brazilian scientists studying 151 patients who recently sought help at a local hospital for symptoms similar to those caused by Zika have made a worrisome discovery: The virus might be associated with a second serious brain issue in adults.
Maria Lucia Brito Ferreira, a doctor at Restoration Hospital in Recife, Brazil, wrote in an abstract that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 68th Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, this week that two patients experienced swelling of the brain and spinal cord that involved the myelin, or coating, around nerve fibers.
They were diagnosed as having acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or ADEM, which is so similar to multiple sclerosis that many practitioners have trouble distinguishing between the two.
The brief but intense attack often follows viral or bacterial infections. The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke says the long-term prog- nosis is “generally favorable.”
But some patients might have mild to moderate lifelong impairment, including cognitive difficulties or loss of vision. In rare cases, the condition can be fatal.
Ferreira was cautious in interpreting her findings, emphasizing that most people who experience nervous system problems with Zika do not have brain symptoms and that a definitive causal link between Zika and the ADEM has not been made.
“However, our study may shed light on possible lingering effects the virus may be associated with in the brain,” she said.
Health officials have previously expressed concern about Zika’s association with a different neurological condition known as Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which the immune system attacks the nerves and can start as weakness or tingling and can lead to paralysis.
