Researchers from Europe have found out that a fetal brain, whose mother suffered from Zika virus symptoms during pregnancy, is missing neural folds. Even though it's not enough to prove that the mosquito-borne disease directly causes microcephaly, scientists believe what they found is a big clue in finding the link between the two, per the Associated Press.

The data from the research will be used with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis, which found Zika virus' genetic material in the brain tissue of two dead Brazilian babies and placentas from two miscarriage fetuses. Dr. Michael Greene of Massachusetts General Hospital says that these findings will be helpful, but there are more unanswered questions about the link between Zika and microcephaly.

The research was made possible by 14 individuals and the results were made public last Wednesday via The New England Journal of Medicine. The 25-year-old woman looked for help in the Department of Perinatology at the University Medical Center in Ljubljana, Slovenia last Oct. 15, 2015 after experiencing Zika symptoms.

No abnormalities were found during the first weeks of pregnancy, but during the 32nd week, doctors found out that her fetus was suffering from severe brain disease and microcephaly. The woman gave her permission to remove her unborn child and was approved by the ethics committee of the University Medical Center and the Slovenian government.

The team of scientists performed an autopsy on the fetus and placenta three days after it was removed from its mother. Central Nervous System examination, electron microscopy, indirect immunofluorescence tests and other microbiological experiments were done on the fetus with the team coming up with good results.

"This case shows severe fetal brain injury associated with ZIKV infection with vertical transmission. Recently, ZIKV was found in amniotic fluid of two fetuses that were found to have microcephaly, which was consistent with intrauterine transmission of the virus," the results stated.

The results further revealed that "the localization of immunofluorescence signal and the morphologic appearance of the calcifications, which resembled destroyed neuronal structures, indicate a possible location of the virus in neurons. The consequent damage might cause arrested development of the cerebral cortex at the embryonic age of approximately 20 weeks."

Brazilian health authorities have linked the Zika virus, which has plagued the country since last year, to the increase in its microcephaly cases. Due to the high number of the rare brain deformation cases in Latin America, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern last Feb. 1, per their official website.