#microcephaly

[bemnie]

any1 here have mircocephaly or know some1 who has some sorta social/media presence?

I like making disabled ocs and i saw a video abt this condition that made me mad so I wanna make an oc with microcephaly now! , but all the articles i can find atm are about raising a child , not really anything about the person who has it yknow?

I know a lotta people who have it have intellectual disability so sometimes its unsafe for them to be on the internet but yea maybe im just bad at looking? would love any help <3!

[bpod-bpod]

Zika Flies

Fruit flies bearing Zika virus proteins as a live model for studying the mechanisms underlying infection in humans with Zika virus and how it causes microcephaly

Read the published article here

Image from work by Nichole Link and J. Michael Harnish, and colleagues

Department of Neurobiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT and Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, BCM, Houston, TX, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in and on the cover of Disease Models & Mechanisms, February 2024

You can also follow BPoD on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook

[postcard-from-the-past]

Maximo Valdez Nunez, he and his sibling had microcephaly and cognitive developmental disability. They were exhibited in human zoos in the 19th century.

Born in El Salvador, given by their mothers to a merchant to educate and exhibit them. They were eventually billed as "Aztec Children" and an elaborate story was constructed of how they were found in the temple of a lost Mesoamerican city by the name of Iximaya. They toured the U.S. and Europe, appearing before various regents and dignitaries.

French vintage postcard

[harmeet-saggi]

Zika Virus Uncovered: From Symptoms To Prevention, Everything You Need To Know

Are you aware of the origins and causes of Zika virus, and how it impacts human health? What are the common symptoms of Zika virus infection, and how can one differentiate it from other illnesses? How is Zika virus transmitted to humans, and what role do Aedes mosquitoes play in its spread? Are there specific precautions for pregnant women to protect themselves and their unborn children from Zika virus? What research is currently underway to better understand and combat this public health concern? Explore these questions and more as we delve into the multifaceted world of Zika virus in this informative article.

[myacare]

Microcephaly is a term that might not be familiar to everyone, but it holds great significance for those affected by it. It refers to a condition where an individual has a smaller-than-average head size, which can have profound implications on their development and overall life.

[drpedi07]

Head Circumference Calculator

Easy to use infant growth chart calculator. Helps you determine the head circumference-age percentile of your baby. Get results based on WHO standards and data.Head circumference calculator

[beyourownuniquesuccess]

21 Of The Best Halloween Activities For Microcephaly Children 

Do you have a child with Microcephaly, special needs, and/or sensory processing disorder? Are you searching/looking for ideas & inspiration for entertaining Halloween fun with your child?

Celebrating Halloween can be a fun and inclusive experience for children with microcephaly. In this blog post, we will explore 25 of the best Halloween activities tailored to engage and entertain children, who live with Microcephaly. 21 Of The Best Halloween Activities For Microcephaly Children   beyourownuniquesuccess.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an…

[chronicallycouchbound]

Ugly Laws. Creepy coming from the word cripple. Freak shows. Fear of clowns. Bearded ladies with PCOS & intersex variations. Contortionists with EDS. Little people. “Missing links” people with Microcephaly. “Snake man” people with limb differences. Lack of welfare programs. Disability rights. All of these things are connected.

[pwlanier]

Because of his shaved skull, his thick neck, and his prognathous jaw, this jester has been identified as Triboulet, the fool of French royal René, the Duke of Anjou and onetime King of Naples. His microcephaly, a birth defect causing him to have a smaller head than average, did not limit him from achieving a significant literary career, both as an actor and a playwright, in an era where such conditions would be disparaged. This marble relief has historically been attributed to Francesco Laurana, who had already designed a medal with Triboulet’s face around the same period, though some critics believe that it could have been the work of Italian sculptor Pietro da Milano, a student of Laurana who was also a member of René of Anjou’s court around 1461. Either way, the artist of this portrait imbued his depiction of Triboulet with the dignity and determined look of a Roman emperor, rather than a buffoon-like representation that was typical of the period.

Art News

[bpod-bpod]

Early Intervention

When Zika virus crosses the placenta to infect a foetus in a pregnant woman, it attacks life before it’s had a chance to establish itself, like squashing a seed before planting it. In particular, the virus infects starter cells for the nervous system, neural progenitor cells, thus causing wide-reaching developmental problems down the line. To investigate how these impacts take hold, researchers examined these cells in the lab, and focused on a protein called UPF1, which manages mRNA – transcripts of genes being expressed. Infected cells have less UPF1 and the researchers saw that as a result, transcripts (red) become stuck in the cell nucleus (blue) in cells infected with Zika (green, right), compared to uninfected (left). This reduces the production of proteins from those transcripts, such as one called FREM2, required to maintain and determine the identity of neural progenitor cells, and so hinders healthy development from the start.

Written by Anthony Lewis

Image from work by Kristoffer E. Leon and Mir M. Khalid, and colleagues

J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA, USA

Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Published in PLOS Pathogens, January 2023

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[romanceyourdemons]

freaks (1932), highly controversial on its release and critically lauded in the generations since, features the same mixed presentation of its subject found in most films made for mass audiences about marginalized groups. the film centers around the world of sideshow performers, and features many people with actual disabilities such as dwarfism, microcephaly, limb differences, conjoined twins, and more. the film is highly sympathetic to them, to the extent of one critic describing it as the “most compassionate” film ever made. notably, the film does not show the actual performance acts of any characters except its able-bodied villain. rather than functioning as a series of spectacles as most circus- and vaudeville-centered films do, and despite its clearly proto-noir plot, this film is primarily organized as a series of vignettes that highlight the ordinary lives and above all else the humanity of its characters. a central theme of the film is solidarity; the lines of conflict are drawn between the performers who choose their own society over the society that disdains them for their disability, femininity, and/or queerness, and those who turn their back on people like them in the hopes of finding mainstream-style success and happiness in mainstream society. these elements are all admirable and unprecedented. and yet the film still does fundamentally cater to a mainstream abled audience with its romantically vicious extrajudicial “code of the freaks,” and its climactic scenes where the characters’ disabilities are very openly presented as a source of horror and disgust—for all its compassion, this is showbusiness after all. both fascinating and fraught, freaks (1932) is a stand-out film for its era in its boldness and compassion, and an illustration of how far compassion can and cannot take a film that is made neither by nor for the people it is about, and for these features i would strongly recommend it

[ruthfeiertag]

What are we supposed to do with this?

From "History Isn’t Entirely Repeating Itself in Covid’s Aftermath," NYT, March 11, 2025:

"Dora Vargha, a medical historian at the University of Exeter, noted that there had been no ongoing widespread effort to memorialize Covid deaths. Instead, with Covid, 'people disappeared into hospitals and never came out.'

"Now it is only their friends and families who remember.

"Dr. Vargha called that response understandable. People, she said, do not want to be 'dragged back' into memories of those Covid years.

"But some, like those suffering from long Covid, can’t forget. In that sense, she sees parallels with other pandemics that, unlike the 1918 flu, left a swath of people who were permanently affected.

"People who contracted paralytic polio in the 1950s described themselves to Dr. Vargha as 'the dinosaurs,' reminders of the time before the vaccine, when the virus was killing or paralyzing children.

"Every pandemic has its dinosaurs, she said. They are the Zika babies living with microcephaly. They are the people, often at the margins of society, who develop AIDS. They are the people who contract tuberculosis.

"But despite the pleas from those who cannot forget Covid and who seek more research, more empathy, more attention, the more pervasive attitude is, 'We don’t need to care anymore,' said Mary Fissell, a historian at Johns Hopkins University. "That sounds so callous, and yet, said Dr. Barron Lerner, a historian at NYU Langone Health, in the world of public health 'there are always people who are left behind — damaged or still at risk.'

“'It’s hurtful' for people to be shunted aside, Dr. Lerner said. 'Their lives are altered. The attention you feel their situation warrants is downplayed.'

But, he added, 'on a realistic basis, there are any number of things to study.' Resources are limited, he noted, adding, 'it can make sense to move on.'”

What are those of us who have been designated "dinosaurs" supposed to do with the shrugging declaration that "there are always people left behind," that "it can make sense to move on"? Is it now our duty to become extinct as quickly as possible so we don't continue to inconvenience others? If not, what accommodations are reasonable for us to ask of others in order for us to participate in society and live lives of some purpose, utility, meaning, and maybe even joy?

[cripplecharacters]

Hey! Thanks so much for all your work — seeing your answers has helped me be a lot more conscious of ableism in media. I have a question about a character I’m writing.

The story is a climate fiction story set in the fairly near future, and the origins of their disability is traced back to water pollution. The effects of the disability are that they are in a scooter.

One of the things you say all the time that I really appreciate is when writing disabled characters make sure they have a specific disability which characteristics you can research — but I’m not totally sure how to research disabilities connected to pollution? I am thinking the character’s disability will be connected with lung issues, which then connect with certain types of muscular atrophy, hence the wheelchair. But this is kind of just guesswork based on some inconclusive googling and what I know of pollution-related health conditions.

Any thoughts or tips?

Thanks!

Hey!

I think that a disability related to pollution is a very interesting premise. I myself have a family member who has a congenital disability due to radiation pollution, it's nice to see it represented.

Some things to consider that could help you with further research;

Were they born with it or is it progressive? Some pollution conditions, like Minamata Disease, could be both, but the symptoms can vary between them. E.g. it wouldn't make sense to give your character microcephaly if they became disabled at 23, but it would if it's congenital.

If possible, try to pinpoint what specifically is causing the water pollution. Heavy metals? Radiation? Chemical spill? There are a lot of incredibly specific pollution conditions. If you can think of it, it probably already happened. This can be research of the incredibly boring variety, but once you find something that works "enough" it will make things easier going forward.

Examples: heavy metals will often cause neurological problems (including ataxia), radiation will cause extremely high rates of various (blood and thyroid, for example) cancers even decades after the exposure, chemical spills can cause almost anything.

If you're going for lung issues, I would research Pneumoconiosis. Apologies for the link to Wikipedia, but it leads to a ton of different subtypes that you could be useful to look into. It talks about dust pollution, but generally if it's in the air then it's going to be in the water soon too.

Using a scooter can be helpful for an incredibly wide range of conditions, including COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) which is a common symptom of various pollution diseases.

Establishing the exact cause will also help you with worldbuilding - if the chemical polluting has a 90% fatality rate, it will be very different from one with <1%. If there's radiation, are unaffected people going through health anxiety due to the obvious cancer risk? Are local animals going extinct, how is the vegetation changing?

For water pollution specifically, think of how it affects the whole community - is rainwater safe to drink, are there ways to clean it, are there any fish to eat? Etc.

I would also research the conditions that you might not necessarily think about, like bacterial or fungal ones. Here's a page on water-based diseases and their effects, as well as potential causes.

This is a very hard to exhaust topic as there's probably a million ways to pollute water, but I tried my best, I wish you good luck with writing. I think it's important to bring attention to these kinds of things.

I hope this helps,

mod Sasza

[darkmaga-returns]

Christine Grady underwrote Zika ethics rules. Her husband broke them. Together, they cashed the checks. Her silence wasn’t neutrality—it was complicity.

Under their watch, NIAID willfully ignored a 2017 ethics panel ruling against Zika human challenge trials, pushing forward with experiments that Brazil rejected and that are now ongoing in Baltimore. An additional scandal lies in how the hastily-presumed Zika-microcephaly link became a global crisis in the first place: a fear-driven panic, fanned by Brazil’s media/left (using Zika’s microcephaly threat as a lever to Brazil’s overturning abortion-constraints)—and where Fauci, in particular, aggrandized the threat while dismissing counterevidence.

[postcard-from-the-past]

Bartola Velasquez, she and her sibling had microcephaly and cognitive developmental disability. They were exhibited in human zoos in the 19th century.

Born in El Salvador, given by their mothers to a merchant to educate and exhibit them. They were eventually billed as "Aztec Children" and an elaborate story was constructed of how they were found in the temple of a lost Mesoamerican city by the name of Iximaya. They toured the U.S. and Europe, appearing before various regents and dignitaries.

French vintage postcard

[weinerundcognac45]

I'm headcounting Pyro microcephaly and moronism and you're ready for this conversation.