Radiological characterization of cerebral phenotype in newborn microcephaly cases from 2015 outbreak in Brazil

Brazil is facing, since October of 2015, an
outbreak of microcephalic fetuses. This outbreak is correlated with the
beginning of circulation of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the country. Although it is
clear that the size of the head is diminished in these fetuses, the brain
phenotype associated with these malformations is unknown. We collected computed tomography images of the microcephaly cases from
the region of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, from September 2015 to February 2016. The CT
acquisition was performed by a multidetector equipment, Philips Brilliance 64
(Philips Medical Systems; Cleveland, EUA), with tomographic section thickness
of 1.0 mm, without administration of iodinated contrast. The protocol
for this study was reviewed and approved by the Universidade Federal do Rio
Grande do Norte Ethics Committee, certificate of approval CAAE 53111416.7.0000.5537. Role of
funding source: The funding agencies had no participation in this work. The microcephalies derived from the current
outbreak are associated with intracerebral calcifications, malformation of the
ventricular system, migratory disorders in the telencephalon and, in a lower
frequency, malformation of the cerebellum and brainstem. The characteristics here described are not
usually found in other types of microcephaly. We suggest that this work can be
used as a guideline to identify microcephaly cases associated to the current outbreak.