Sleep EEG of Microcephaly in Zika Outbreak

Microcephaly (MC), previously considered rare, is now a health emergency of international concern because of the devastating Zika virus pandemic outbreak of 2015. The authors describe the electroencephalogram (EEG) findings in sleep EEG of epileptic children who were born with microcephaly in areas of Brazil with active Zika virus transmission between 2014 and 2017. The authors reviewed EEGs from 23 children. Nine were females (39.2%), and the age distribution varied from 4 to 48 months. MC was associated with mother positive serology to toxoplasmosis (toxo), rubella (rub), herpes, and dengue (1 case); toxo (1 case); chikungunya virus (CHIKV) (1 case); syphilis (1 case); and Zika virus (ZIKV) (10 cases). In addition, 1 case was associated with perinatal hypoxia and causes of 9 cases remain unknown. The main background EEG abnormality was diffuse slowing (10 cases), followed by classic (3 cases) and modified (5 cases) hypsarrhythmia. A distinct EEG pattern was seen in ZIKV (5 cases), toxo (2 cases), and undetermined cause (1 case). It was characterized by runs of frontocentrotemporal 4.5-13 Hz activity (7 cases) or diffuse and bilateral runs of 18-24 Hz (1 case). In ZIKV, this rhythmic activity was associated with hypsarrhythmia or slow background. Further studies are necessary to determine if this association is suggestive of ZIKV infection. The authors believe that EEG should be included in the investigation of all newly diagnosed congenital MC, especially those occurring in areas of autochthonous transmission of ZIKV.