Researchers Restore Hearing in Deaf Mice Using Gene Therapy
PARIS, FRANCE — Researchers have announced the successful restoration of hearing in an adult mouse model of DFNB9 deafness — one of the most frequent cases of congenital, genetic deafness. Individuals with DFNB9 deafness are profoundly deaf due to a deficiency in the gene coding for otoferlin, a protein which is essential for transmitting sound…
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University of Miami Receives $3M NIH Grant for Genetic Hearing Loss Research
MIAMI, FLORIDA — The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology has received a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will fund research related to biological treatments and clinical diagnosis of patients with hearing loss. The grant allows Xue Zhong Liu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of otolaryngology, human…
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Israeli Researchers Get One Step Closer to Unraveling Cause of Human Deafness
As much as 98% of the human genome does not code for protein. RNAs contained in this non-coding part act as regulatory molecules and have a substantial impact on gene expression. One type of these RNA molecules, called long non-coding RNAs, has been linked to a wide range of diseases and inheritable conditions such as…
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Cochlear Implant Performance May Improve with Anti-inflammatory Drugs
MELBOURNE — Australia’s HEARing Cooperative Research Centre (CRC), a collaborative group of 21 internationally-recognized organizations, announced on August 24th promising new research suggesting slowly released drugs to the inner ear via electrodes may improve cochlear implant performance. According to HEARing CRC CEO, Professor Robert Cowan, research using an electrode array that slowly releases anti-inflammatory drugs into…
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New Research on Genetic Architecture in Hearing Loss Holds Promise
Genetic factors play a significant role in both sensorineural hearing loss and noise-induced hearing loss. For a number of reasons genetic studies involving humans are complicated. They are prone to challenges associated with low statistical power, limited replicability, and confounding environmental parameters, such as noise exposure and ototoxic medication use. Thus, the inbred mouse research…
Read MoreScience is moving fast in addressing genetic causes of deafness
NEW ROCHELLE, NY—“Over the next decade, most of the variant genes responsible for deafness will be identified, and such knowledge will lead to the development of practical treatments.” So predict four scientists from the University of Miami writing in the June 2013 issue of Genetic Testing and Molecular Biomarkers (GTMB). In their paper, “Next-Generation Sequencing…
Read MoreUtah program would pay for kids’ hearing aids
SALT LAKE CITY—The Utah Legislature stands on the verge of making hearing aids available free to low-income children in that state who do not qualify for Medicaid or for the Utah Children’s Health Insurance Program. On March 13, the Senate voted unanimously to establish an advisory committee in the Utah Department of Health that would…
Read MoreAt meeting in Arizona, AAS marks 40 years of advancing auditory science
SCOTTSDALE, AZ—The American Auditory Society (AAS) held its 40th annual Scientific and Technology Meeting here March 7-9. Since its founding in 1973, AAS has pursued the goal of increasing knowledge and understanding of the ear, hearing, and balance; disorders of the ear, hearing, and balance, and preventions of these disorders; and habilitation and rehabilitation of…
Read MoreGene therapy found to restore hearing in mice with genetic deafness
SAN FRANCISCO–Injection of a gene into the inner ear of mice born with genetic hearing loss was found to restore the laboratory animals’ hearing within two weeks of the treatment, according to a preclinical research study published in the July 26 issue of the journal Neuron. The experiment was conducted by Lawrence Lustig, PhD, and…
Read MoreBrain Award will honor two women who have discovered genetic causes of deafness
COPENHAGEN–Two researchers who have done groundbreaking work in discovering genetic factors in hearing and deafness will share the 2012 Brain Award, presented by the Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Foundation. They are Christine Petit, chair of genetics and cellular physiology at College de France and head of the Genetics and Physiology of Hearing Laboratory at the Institut Pasteur…
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