Deafness cure development reported
Updated on 27 August 2008
An early step towards curing deafness has been taken by scientists who used gene therapy to grow hair cells sensitive to sound vibrations in the inner ears of mice.
Tiny hairs in the cochlea translate sound waves into nerve messages and are vital to hearing. If they are lost or damaged, hearing may be irrevocably impaired.
Finding a way to re-grow cochlea hairs has long been a goal of scientists.
Mammals are not normally able to regenerate the hairs, but US researchers led by Dr John Brigande, from Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, found that this obstacle could be overcome by genetic engineering.
The scientists inserted a gene called Atoh 1, which activates cochlea hair development, into mice while they were still developing in the womb.
The effect was to cause non-sensory cells in the inner ear to become hair cells.
Tests showed that the cochlea hairs became attached to nerve fibres and were technically functional.
The scientists wrote in the journal Nature: "The ability to conduct gain-of-function experiments in the developing mammalian inner ear by gene transfer in utero (in the womb) may permit the design and functional assessment of gene therapies aimed at ameliorating hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction in mice that model human deafness and balance disorders.
"This capability is a crucial first step in defining translational therapies to ameliorate the effects of inner ear disease in humans."
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