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MICROCEPHALY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An abnormally small head and underdeveloped brain
Synonyms:
microcephalus; microcephaly; nanocephaly
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("microcephaly" is a kind of...):
abnormalcy; abnormality (an abnormal physical condition resulting from defective genes or developmental deficiencies)
Derivation:
microcephalic; microcephalous (having an abnormally small head and underdeveloped brain)
Context examples:
A genetic syndrome characterized by mental retardation, speech impairment, microcephaly, ataxia, and seizures.
(Angelman Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
A fetus that acquires the virus from its ZIKV-infected mother during pregnancy can develop microcephaly and other serious abnormalities.
(Zika virus selectively infects and kills glioblastoma cells in mice, National Institutes of Health)
It is characterized by mental retardation, developmental delay, microcephaly, short stature and kyphoscoliosis.
(Coffin-Lowry Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
Clinical signs at birth include microcephaly, hypotonia, abnormal reflexes and involuntary eye movements.
(Cerebrooculofacioskeletal Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
Clinical signs at birth include recurrent respiratory infections, poor feeding, hypotonia, joint laxity and characteristic shortened fifth digits with hypoplastic or absent nails and craniofacial appearance: microcephaly, wide nose and lips, sparse scalp hair but thick eyebrows and eyelashes.
(Coffin-Siris Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
Apart from microcephaly, babies that have been exposed to the Zika virus may develop brain lesions that are initially undetectable but could trigger cognitive impairment.
(New blood test to detect Zika approved in Brazil, SciDev.Net)
The measures were announced one year after the declaration of national emergency due to the rise in the number of microcephaly cases registered in Brazil.
(Brazil: Babies of mothers infected with Zika will be monitored for up to 3 years, Agência Brasil)
Brazilian scientists developed the kit following the 2015 Zika outbreak that caused a higher rate of microcephaly, a condition where a baby is born with an abnormally small head.
(New blood test to detect Zika approved in Brazil, SciDev.Net)
In addition to head circumference measurement, which is the primary criterion for microcephaly notification, other malformations resulting from the infection will be investigated.
(Brazil: Babies of mothers infected with Zika will be monitored for up to 3 years, Agência Brasil)
Of the total, 2,143 cases were confirmed for microcephaly associated with the Zika virus—78% of them in the Northeast.
(Brazil: Babies of mothers infected with Zika will be monitored for up to 3 years, Agência Brasil)
