Microcephaly as a risk factor for dental alterations: A case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess whether microcephaly is a risk factor for alterations in the chronology and sequence of tooth eruption and for developmental defects of enamel. MATHERIALS AND METHODS: In this case-control study, 81 children aged 30-36 months, including 40 normoreactive children and 41 with microcephaly, were submitted to oral clinical examination to determine the frequency of alterations in the chronology and sequence of tooth eruption and developmental enamel defects. The sample was matched for sex and age (1:1) and allocated to the case (presence of dental alterations) and control (absence of dental alterations) groups. Gestational age, birthweight and socioeconomic characteristics were also analyzed. Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test were applied (α = 0.05). RESULTS: Microcephaly was significantly associated with delayed tooth eruption, alterations in the sequence of tooth eruption, and defects in dental enamel (p < 0.001). Low birthweight also showed a significant association with this alterations (p < 0.005) and prematurity was associated with defects in enamel development (p < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Microcephaly is a risk factor for alterations in the tooth eruption process and enamel formation in primary teeth.

Association of congenital Zika syndrome with dental alterations in children with microcephaly.

The effects of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) on the tooth development of infected children are not well known. The aim of this study was to analyze the association of CZS with dental alterations in children with microcephaly seen at a referral hospital in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The chronology and sequence of tooth eruption and the presence of dental alterations were evaluated by a single calibrated examiner (kappa > 0.80) in 62 children aged 7 to 35 months with microcephaly associated with CZS and other congenital infections. Medical data of the mother and child were collected from the records and the parents responded to a socioeconomic questionnaire. Descriptive analysis and Fisher's exact test were used (5% significance level). The mean age of the children was 26.4 months (SD = 7.52). The mean weight and head circumference at birth were 2,593 g (SD = 0.60) and 29.6 cm (SD = 2.48), respectively. Microcephaly was associated with congenital Zika virus infection in 79% of cases and with other congenital infections in 21%. No significant association was found between CZS and alterations in the chronology (p = 1.00) or sequence of tooth eruption (p = 0.16) or changes in enamel development (p = 1.00). In conclusion, children with microcephaly exhibit a delay and alterations in the sequence of tooth eruption of primary teeth, as well as developmental defects of enamel, which are not associated with Zika virus infection.

Factors Associated with Behavioral Disorders in Children with Congenital Zika Syndrome and Their Families-A Cross-Sectional Study.

The Zika virus was responsible for an outbreak between 2015 and 2016 in Brazil: an alarming public health problem of international relevance. The Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) is often associated with manifestations that are responsible for cognitive and motor development delays and behavioral disorders. Thus, we aimed to characterize the clinical-epidemiological and familial context of those children and to identify factors associated with the risk of behavioral disorders using the Survey of Well-Being of Young Children questionnaire (SWYC). In total, 52 children diagnosed with CZS were evaluated. Logistic regressions were employed to assess predictive variables for behavioral alteration. Eighteen (35%) of the children presented a risk of behavioral alteration. Children born normocephalic were 36-fold more likely to present behavioral alteration (95% CI: 3.82 to 337.92, p = 0.002). Children with hearing and visual impairments showed reduced risks. In total, 35% percent of families reported food insecurity and 21% were at risk for maternal depression. Our findings suggest better social interactions and conditions to externalize reactions for children with CZS born normocephalic. The continuous assessment of these children and families may identify conditions associated with behavioral alteration and psychosocial vulnerabilities that help in decision-making, therefore optimizing patient-family interactions.

Development of infants presented with congenital syphilis in their first months of life

ABSTRACT Purpose: to evaluate the cognitive, language, and motor development of infants with congenital syphilis in their first months of life. Methods: a sample of 52 infants, from 21 to 112 days of age, born in public maternity hospitals, divided into a study group of 28 infants with congenital syphilis and a control group 24 infants without risk indicators for hearing loss. They underwent the Neonatal Hearing Screening Protocol with automated Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential. The research instrument was the Bayley-III Scale, consisting of the cognitive, language (receptive and expressive), and motor (fine and gross) subscales. The raw scores were entered into the software that accompanies the Bayley-III scale kit to calculate the scores (scaled and composite) and perform qualitative analysis. The Mann-Whitney test and the Wilcoxon test was applied and used a 5% significance level. Results: a similarity between groups for the demographic parameters, maternal education level, and socioeconomic level, was seen. There was no statistically significant difference between groups when comparing the cognitive, receptive language, expressive language, fine motor, and gross motor subscales. Conclusion: infants with congenital syphilis treated at birth have a cognitive, language, and motor development within that expected for their age group in their first months of life.

Characteristics of Congenital Heart of Premature Newborns / Características das Cardiopatias Congênitas de Recém-Nascidos Prematuros

Congenital heart disease is considered the most common malformation found in neonatology. The aim of this study was to characterize the congenital heart diseases of premature newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of a high-risk maternity unit. This was an observational retrospective, descriptive character study carried out in a maternity school, reference in high-risk gestation in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. The study was carried out with premature infants admitted to NICU, who presented some cardiological findings when performing the echocardiogram examination. Data collection was performed through the records of infants hospitalized from December 2016 to December 2017. A total of 371 records were evaluated. Fifty-eight infants were diagnosed with congenital heart disease, and 38 of them had Persistence of the ductus arteriosus. The main diagnosed cardiopathies caused low pulmonary flow. About half of the pregnant women with cardiac infants presented some complications during pregnancy, and the most frequent was Urinary Tract Infection; 55 infants needed some ventilatory support, 14 had at least one extubation failure during the hospitalization period, and 8 presented atelectasis. Persistence of the ductus arteriosus was the most common cardiologic finding, and the most frequent congenital heart diseases were those that decreased pulmonary flow, diagnosed mostly in premature infants who needed some ventilation support, but who were discharged from hospital. (AU)

Cardiopatias congênitas (CC) são consideradas as malformações mais comuns encontradas na neonatologia. O objetivo deste estudo foi caracterizar as CC de recém-nascidos prematuros em Unidade de Terapia Intensiva Neonatal (UTIN) de uma maternidade de alto risco. Tratase de um estudo observacional retrospectivo, de caráter descritivo, realizado em uma maternidade escola, referência em gestação de alto risco do estado do Rio Grande do Norte. O estudo foi realizado com os bebês prematuros admitidos na UTIN, que apresentaram algum achado cardiológico ao realizar o exame de ecocardiograma. A coleta de dados foi realizada através dos prontuários dos bebês internados no período de dezembro de 2016 a dezembro de 2017. Foram avaliados 371 prontuários, sendo elencados para o estudo 58 bebês, 38 apresentaram persistência do canal arterial (PCA) e foram alocados no grupo PCA e 20 apresentaram outro tipo de CC e foram alocados no grupo CC. 55 bebês necessitaram do uso de algum suporte ventilatório, 14 apresentaram pelo menos uma falha de extubação durante o período de internação e 8 apresentaram atelectasia. Cerca de metade das gestantes com bebês cardiopatas apresentaram alguma intercorrência durante a gestação. A mais frequente foi à infecção do trato urinário. A PCA foi o achado cardiológico mais comum da amostra (65%) e dentre os 20 RN com diferentes CC, as que causam o baixo fluxo pulmonar foram as mais frequentes (70%), sendo encontradas em sua maioria em prematuros que necessitaram de algum suporte ventilatório, mas que receberam alta hospitalar. (AU)

Publisher Correction: Discordant congenital Zika syndrome twins show differential in vitro viral susceptibility of neural progenitor cells.

The original PDF version of this Article contained errors in the spelling of Luiz Carlos Caires-Júnior, Uirá Souto Melo, Bruno Henrique Silva Araujo, Alessandra Soares-Schanoski, Murilo Sena Amaral, Kayque Alves Telles-Silva, Vanessa van der Linden, Helio van der Linden, João Ricardo Mendes de Oliveira, Nivia Maria Rodrigues Arrais, Joanna Goes Castro Meira, Ana Jovina Barreto Bispo, Esper Abrão Cavalheiro, and Robert Andreata-Santos, which were incorrectly given as Luiz Carlos de Caires Jr., UiráSouto Melo, Bruno Silva Henrique Araujo, Alessandra Soares Schanoski, MuriloSena Amaral, Kayque Telles Alves Silva, Vanessa Van der Linden, Helio Van der Linden, João Mendes Ricardo de Oliveira, Nivia Rodrigues Maria Arrais, Joanna Castro Goes Meira, Ana JovinaBarreto Bispo, EsperAbrão Cavalheiro, and Robert Andreata Santos. Furthermore, in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article, the top panel of Fig. 3e was incorrectly labeled '10608-1' and should have been '10608-4', and financial support from CAPES and DECIT-MS was inadvertently omitted from the Acknowledgements section. These errors have now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

Discordant congenital Zika syndrome twins show differential in vitro viral susceptibility of neural progenitor cells.

Congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) causes early brain development impairment by affecting neural progenitor cells (NPCs). Here, we analyze NPCs from three pairs of dizygotic twins discordant for CZS. We compare by RNA-Seq the NPCs derived from CZS-affected and CZS-unaffected twins. Prior to Zika virus (ZIKV) infection the NPCs from CZS babies show a significantly different gene expression signature of mTOR and Wnt pathway regulators, key to a neurodevelopmental program. Following ZIKV in vitro infection, cells from affected individuals have significantly higher ZIKV replication and reduced cell growth. Whole-exome analysis in 18 affected CZS babies as compared to 5 unaffected twins and 609 controls excludes a monogenic model to explain resistance or increased susceptibility to CZS development. Overall, our results indicate that CZS is not a stochastic event and depends on NPC intrinsic susceptibility, possibly related to oligogenic and/or epigenetic mechanisms.