{"id":20020,"date":"2012-09-18T02:26:42","date_gmt":"2012-09-18T07:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=20020"},"modified":"2012-09-18T02:52:58","modified_gmt":"2012-09-18T07:52:58","slug":"deaf-gerbils-hear-again-after-stem-cell-cure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/09\/18\/deaf-gerbils-hear-again-after-stem-cell-cure\/","title":{"rendered":"Deaf gerbils ‘hear again’ after stem cell cure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deaf gerbils ‘hear again’ after stem cell cure<\/strong><\/p>\n

By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News<\/p>\n

UK researchers say they have taken a huge step forward in treating
\ndeafness after stem cells were used to restore hearing in animals for
\nthe first time.<\/p>\n

Hearing partially improved when nerves in the ear, which pass sounds
\ninto the brain, were rebuilt in gerbils – a UK study in the journal
\nNature reports.<\/p>\n

Getting the same improvement in people would be a shift from being
\nunable to hear traffic to hearing a conversation.<\/p>\n

However, treating humans is still a distant prospect.<\/p>\n

If you want to listen to the radio or have a chat with a friend your
\near has to convert sound waves in the air into electrical signals which
\nthe brain will understand.<\/p>\n

This happens deep inside the inner ear where vibrations move tiny hairs
\nand this movement creates an electrical signal.<\/p>\n

However, in about one in 10 people with profound hearing loss, nerve
\ncells which should pick up the signal are damaged. It is like dropping
\nthe baton after the first leg of a relay race.<\/p>\n

The aim of researchers at the University of Sheffield was to replace
\nthose baton-dropping nerve cells, called spiral ganglion neurons, with
\nnew ones.<\/p>\n

hey used stem cells from a human embryo, which are capable of becoming
\nany other type of cell in the human body from nerve to skin, muscle to
\nkidney.<\/p>\n

A chemical soup was added to the stem cells that converted them into
\ncells similar to the spiral ganglion neurons. These were then
\ndelicately injected into the inner ears of 18 deaf gerbils.<\/p>\n

Over 10 weeks the gerbils’ hearing improved. On average 45% of their
\nhearing range was restored by the end of the study.<\/p>\n

Dr Marcelo Rivolta said: “It would mean going from being so deaf that
\nyou wouldn’t be able to hear a lorry or truck in the street to the
\npoint where you would be able to hear a conversation.<\/p>\n

“It is not a complete cure, they will not be able to hear a whisper,
\nbut they would certainly be able to maintain a conversation in a room.”<\/p>\n

About a third of the gerbils responded really well to treatment with
\nsome regaining up to 90% of their hearing, while just under a third
\nbarely responded at all.<\/p>\n

Gerbils were used as they are able to hear a similar range of sounds to
\npeople, unlike mice which hear higher-pitched sounds.<\/p>\n

The researchers detected the improvement in hearing by measuring
\nbrainwaves. The gerbils were also tested for only 10 weeks. If this
\nbecame a treatment in humans then the effect would need to be shown
\nover a much longer term.<\/p>\n

There are also questions around the safety and ethics of stem cell
\ntreatments which would need to be addressed.<\/p>\n

‘Tremendously encouraging’<\/p>\n

Prof Dave Moore, the director of the Medical Research Council’s
\nInstitute of Hearing Research in Nottingham, told the BBC: “It is a big
\nmoment, it really is a major development.”<\/p>\n

However, he cautioned that there will still be difficulties repeating
\nthe feat in people.<\/p>\n

“The biggest issue is actually getting into the part of the inner ear
\nwhere they’ll do some good. It’s extremely tiny and very difficult to
\nget to and that will be a really formidable undertaking,” he said.<\/p>\n

Dr Ralph Holme, head of biomedical research for the charity Action on
\nHearing Loss, said: “The research is tremendously encouraging and gives
\nus real hope that it will be possible to fix the actual cause of some
\ntypes of hearing loss in the future.<\/p>\n

“For the millions of people for whom hearing loss is eroding their
\nquality of life, this can’t come soon enough.”<\/p>\n

Analysis: A hairy problem<\/p>\n

While there is excitement at the prospect of using stem cells to
\nrestore nerves in the ear this exact technique will not help the vast,
\nvast majority of people with hearing loss.<\/p>\n

Most hearing problems are caused by damage to the tiny delicate hairs
\nwhich convert mechanical vibrations into electricity.<\/p>\n

This research group have also converted embryonic stem cells into the
\nearly versions of the hair cells.<\/p>\n

However, injecting them into the ear to restore hearing will be no easy
\ntask.<\/p>\n

The hairs cells all need to be in the exact place and pointing in
\nexactly the right direction.<\/p>\n

Prof Dave Moore said using stem cells to repair the hairs was “almost
\nan impossible task” and that the far-fetched concept of growing and
\ntransplanting a replacement ear seemed more likely.<\/p>\n

SOURCE:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/health-19570024<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deaf gerbils ‘hear again’ after stem cell cure By James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News UK researchers say they have taken a huge step forward in treating deafness after stem cells were used to restore hearing in animals…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[4621,12939,15101,15099,15100,15094,15105,1570,15098,15097,15104,104,2287,15095,15103,15096,15102],"class_list":["post-20020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-article","tag-bbc","tag-biomedical","tag-dr-marcelo-rivolta","tag-dr-ralph-holme","tag-gerbils","tag-hairs","tag-hearing","tag-james-gallagher-health","tag-journal-nature","tag-prof-dave-moore","tag-research","tag-science","tag-stem-cell","tag-tiny-hairs","tag-uk","tag-university-of-sheffield"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-5cU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17380,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/01\/25\/first-fda-approved-study-of-stem-cells-to-treat-hearing-loss-begins-at-childrens-memorial-hermann-hospital\/","url_meta":{"origin":20020,"position":0},"title":"First FDA-Approved Study of Stem Cells to Treat Hearing Loss Begins at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Press Releases First FDA-Approved Study of Stem Cells to Treat Hearing Loss Begins at Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital HOUSTON, Jan. 12, 2012 \/PRNewswire\/ -- Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and Cord Blood Registry\u00ae (CBR) are launching the first FDA-approved, Phase I safety study on the use of cord blood stem cells\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23600,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/06\/29\/gallaudet-university-awarded-grant-to-provide-scholarships-for-students-in-stem-majors\/","url_meta":{"origin":20020,"position":1},"title":"Gallaudet University awarded grant to provide scholarships for students in STEM majors","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Gallaudet University awarded grant to provide scholarships for students in STEM majors Washington, D.C. - June 17, 2013 - Gallaudet University today announced it has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant award to fund scholarships for students majoring in biology, chemistry, or mathematics. 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