Written on 01-08-2016

A team at Johns Hopkins has recently shown in the lab why the Zika virus is so dangerous to unborn children. It’s because it attacks and kills neural progenitor cells in the fetal brain. These cells are responsible for generating new neurons, but when damaged by the Zika virus they create fewer neurons, leading to smaller brains. There is much more to learn, but this research is likely an important step toward a treatment or vaccine for Zika.

  –

為什麼寨卡病毒對胎兒會造成這麼大的危害，約翰霍普金斯大學一個研究隊伍最近在實驗室找到了原因：因為寨卡病毒會攻擊並殺掉胎兒大腦的神經原細胞。這些神經原細胞是負責產生新的神經元，當寨卡病毒入侵後，它們衹能製造少量神經元，令腦袋變得細小。雖然還有很多東西有待確定，但這項研究結果足以爲治療或研發寨卡病毒疫苗踏出了重要的一步。