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Stem Cells Turn Hearing Back On

Posted by Soulskill on from the i-heard-that dept.

puddingebola sends this excerpt from an article at ScienceNow: "Scientists have enabled deaf gerbils to hear again — with the help of transplanted cells that develop into nerves that can transmit auditory information from the ears to the brain. The advance, reported today in Nature, could be the basis for a therapy to treat various kinds of hearing loss. ... Rivolta and his colleagues knew that during embryonic development, a handful of proteins, including fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 3 and 10, are required for ears to form. So they exposed human embryonic stem cells to FGF3 and FGF10. Multiple types of cells formed, including precursor inner-ear hair cells, but they were also able to identify and isolate the cells beginning to differentiate into the desired spiral ganglion neurons. Then, they implanted the neuron precursor cells into the ears of gerbils with damaged ear neurons and followed the animals for 10 weeks. The function of the neurons was restored.'"

4 of 101 comments (clear)

  1. Deaf gerbils, yes, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Has it been tested on leppards?

  2. Deaf community will hate this by Wyatt+Earp · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Many in the deaf community are against technologies that restore hearing.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaf_culture#Values_and_beliefs

    A positive attitude toward being deaf is typical in Deaf cultural groups. Deafness is not generally considered a condition that needs to be fixed.

    1. Re:Deaf community will hate this by jbrandv · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I lost hearing in my right ear several years ago from sudden hearing loss. I'd give almost anything to get it back. I have tinnitus in that ear so bad it almost hurts sometimes. Plus you have no idea how frustrating it is to hear a sound and NOT be able to tell where it came from. PLEASE fix it!

    2. Re:Deaf community will hate this by Tog+Klim · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I have partial hearing loss due to nerve damage in one ear when I was 30. I now wear a hearing aid in that ear. I would love to have my hearing fixed without an aid.