The neurological disease is called acute disseminated encephalomyelitis or ADEM. The disease is often misdiagnosed as a severe first attack of multiple sclerosis because the symptoms are similar, according to Live Science.
ADEM usually presents as a widespread but brief appearance of inflammation that affects the brain and spinal cord, damaging the myelin, the protective covering of our nerve fibers. The symptoms appear rapidly, with the onset of encephalitis-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue, headache, nausea and vomiting, says the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
As compared to the Guillain-Barre syndrome, which attacks the peripheral nerves outside the brain, ADEM attacks the central nervous system and spinal cord and damages the myelin covering the nerves. Researchers at Restoration Hospital in Recife, Brazil studied 151 patients who had visited the hospital between December 2014 and June 2015.
All the patients were showing symptoms of being infected with the Zika virus. Nature World News reports that of the 151 patients, six developed neurological symptoms either immediately or within 15 days of infection. Four patients developed Guillain-Barre syndrome and two went on to develop ADEM.
On follow-up, Newsweek says that five of the six patients with neurological symptoms reported a loss of motor functions and one experienced visual complications and difficulties with cognitive memory function. Dr. Maria Lucia Brito Ferreira of the Restoration hospital and author of the study said, “Though our study is small, it may provide evidence that in this case the virus has different effects on the brain than those identified in current studies.”
The study was presented at the annual conference of the American Academy of Neurology in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on Sunday, April 10, 2016. Dr. Ferreira says the study may help to shed some light on the lingering neurological effects of the Zika virus.
According to WHO, there have been outbreaks of the Guillain-Barre syndrome in 13 countries affected by Zika virus outbreaks. Dr. James Sejvar, a neuroepidemiologist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that while the ADEM does not appear to be accelerating at the same rate as Guillain-Barre, doctors should still be on the lookout for ADEM.
In talking with Fox News, Dr. Sejvar said, “Of course, the remaining question is ‘Why? Why does Zika virus appear to have the strong association with GBS and potential other immune/inflammatory diseases of the nervous system?”
