Yes post title is “Holy Grail” for those with genetic hearing loss. Yet article does not mention length of time for human testing, nor how injection process happens. What I find more of a concern and a “escape hatch” for Mass Eye and Ear is article mentions gene therapy along with cochlear implant.
That to me is an extremely odd combination since a CI is last resort for many, especially if yet unproven gene therapy does not work. Seem Mass Eye and Ear is leaving themselves an “Out” if drawing board gene therapy doesn’t work, they then could blame CI for lack of favorable trial results.
Our findings suggest that a virally mediated gene therapy, either by itself or in combination with a cochlear implant, could potentially treat genetic hearing loss,” said corresponding author Zheng Yi Chen, D.Phil., an investigator in the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass Eye and Ear.
Just a slight correction. CI is no longer considered just as a last resort. Results are better when one gets it sooner than later when HAs no longer are as helpful as they used to me. I was borderline according to the the new guidelines and went ahead with it in Dec. best decision and back to “normal” level booth testing for our tones in that ear and 95% word/sentence in booth scores.
Twenty years is a little long in the tooth, but it’s certainly not going to happen in this decade. And in my opinion you don’t mix a CI with Ear Gene Therapy. That’s really an odd combination and some what self-defeating cocktail.
I agree that there appears to be a non-sequiter in the Key Facts as they appeared in the article:
Key Facts:
The study demonstrates for the first time the effectiveness of AAV vector-mediated gene therapy in reversing hearing loss in aged mice, opening possibilities for similar treatment in humans.
This research successfully developed a mouse model with a mutation equivalent to the human TMPRSS3 gene defect, known to cause progressive hearing loss.
The possibility of combining this gene therapy with cochlear implants could potentially treat genetic hearing loss.
To even mention CI in the same sentence as a study that’s focused on gene therapy seems to raise a completely new topic.
However! I was pleased to read that: “As reported in Molecular Therapy, researchers observed robust hearing rescue in the aged mice upon injecting the animals with an AAV carrying a healthy human TMPRSS3 gene.”
“Robust” sounds very good! As a Big D person myself, I’d like some of that robust treatment right now!
Click through and read the article. The authors are talking about possible effectiveness of the treatment for a particular progressive genetic hearing loss in which cochlear implant efficacy decreases over time because of a loss of spiral ganglion cells. They are theorizing that the gene therapy can preserve the spiral ganglia in this population and thereby maintain implant function.
Unless you have a mutation in the transmembrane protease serine 3 gene, this article is not for you. It causes congenital or early childhood onset progressive hearing loss, so if that IS you–maybe yay? But there are other more common mutations that cause progressive childhood hearing loss.
