Stem Cells as a Cure for Deafness

A study published in the journal Nature today suggests that Stem Cell therapy could be used to improve hearing. The study was conducted on Gerbils, due to their similar hearing range, and after 10 weeks the group of 18 had regained on average 46% of their hearing, with a control group of 8 Gerbils not regaining any hearing without the therapy. The therapy involved administering a drug to the Gerbils which caused deafness by damaging the auditory nerves. Using human embryonic stem cells, they injected about 50,000 early stage auditory neurones into the cochlea. Although not resulting in an overall cure for deafness, the Gerbils went from not being able to hear busy traffic to being able to hear conversations - suggesting that it could result in a return to normality if tried on Humans. However, the ultimate aim would be to use these neurones, adding sensory hairs, alongside a cochlear implant. Although Human trials are still several years away, this breakthrough is encouraging news for the 10 million deaf people in the United Kingdom, 15% of whom could be cured by this exact procedure should it work in humans.