Stanford Discovery Could Lead To Cure For Deafness

[Miss-Delectable]

Stanford Discovery Could Lead To Cure For Deafness - News Story - KTVU San Francisco

A new discovery from Stanford researchers may pave the way for treatment -- and even a possible cure -- for deafness.

Stem cell scientists reported Thursday that they have for the first time created in the laboratory the inner-ear cells responsible for hearing and balance.

For the profoundly deaf, a risky and invasive cochlear implant is currently the only way to restore hearing.

Doctors said in the vast majority of cases, the auditory nerve is intact. But it's the inner ear that doesn't work.

“It's usually a loss of the sensory cells inside of the cochlea,” said Stanford Cochlear Implant Surgeon Dr. Nikolas Blevins. “And that is exactly what a cochlear implant is designed to bypass.”

Thursday’s announcement suggests that there may be another way.

“It's a huge step forward for basic science,” said Professor of Otolaryngology Stefan Heller.

Professor Heller and his colleagues said the huge step is that they've created the first functional cochlear sensory cells from stem cells.

Inside the spiral inner ear, there are only a few thousand sensory cells. They do not regenerate once damaged by noise, virus or if genetically absent. Deafness is permanent.

Scientists used mouse stem cells to create sensory cells that had a tiny but critical hair bundle.

“This is a sensor which detects sound vibration and converts it to electrical signal,” explained Stanford researcher Dr. Kazuo Oshima.

“Fascinatingly, the cells were working which is a major step forward,” said Heller. “Eventually in the future possibly a cure for hearing loss.”

Researchers cautioned that parents should not wait for this cure because it could be a decade or more away. And while some people in the deaf community applaud research, one summed it up to KTVU in a view not uncommon among deaf people: "Why don't they quit trying to fix us."

 

[kokonut]

"Fix us"...? That's because I'm sure the majority of people with hearing loss would like to see their hearing loss restored. And they would certainly welcome news such as this one. Mind you, that's taking into consideration the 33+ million people with hearing loss in the United States and not just exclusively "fixing" Deaf people. These little milestones certainly do add up until one day the inevitable happens.

Great news. Keep it coming.

 

[Steinhauer]

My hearing loss is genetic inner ear nerve damage ... thanks for sharing the link.

 

[BLeGal2]

Deaf people don't need fixing. I think its cool for the scientist to know how to repair ones inner ear in case they want to hear, but if they are getting by using sign there is no reason to "fix" anything. If I was hard of hearing, I think I would be curious to hear more though, but in my opinion if your completely deaf your not missing much cause you have your own world. It is very cool to see that stem cells can do almost anything they try with them now--- kinda creepy too. lol

 

[shel90]

Audist and pathological view on deafness...nothing new.

 

[kokonut]

Say that again but suppose it's a cure on blindness. What's the equivalent word for avdist?

 

[shel90]

Say that again but suppose it's a cure on blindness. What's the equivalent word for avdist?

The medical community will always have an audist and pathological view on deafness so it is nothing new that there is another attempt on "curing" deafness..

I cant speak for blind people..if they feel the same about cure for blindness or not. Not my place to form an opinion about a cure for it as I have never walked in their shoes.

 

[kokonut]

So, soldiers with mild or even moderate hearing loss as result of, say, loud noises during the war in Iraq or Afghanistan shouldn't be given the opportunity to have their hearing loss restored should a regenerative medicine give them the ability to improve their hearing or even perhaps cure it?

 

[deafdyke]

So, soldiers with mild or even moderate hearing loss as result of, say, loud noises during the war in Iraq or Afghanistan shouldn't be given the opportunity to have their hearing loss restored should a regenerative medicine give them the ability to improve their hearing or even perhaps cure it?

No, not at all. But I think combat induced hearing loss is quite rare overall in the grand scheme of things.
Hearing loss is going to be very tough to cure, since it usually is the result of a perfect storm of all kinds of causes.

 

[FxAvatar]

I am not sure I am fond of the word ‘cure’, but I do have to say I tend to invite options. I have just started losing my hearing, and for those that are late deafened, this could be seen as a good option. Personally, I started learning sign and will most likely go hearing aids if they help and if I can afford them. As for this research, my fear will be when they start using it on kids without a choice, much like you see with the CI’s. Hearing parents that have no idea options exist will be told that it is the only way to for the kids to have a good life.

Also, it could be forced by insurance companies, much like how most now do not cover hearing aids, but they do cover CI’s since CI’s is touted as a ‘cure’.

 

[Steinhauer]

Say that again but suppose it's a cure on blindness. What's the equivalent word for avdist?

why stop with blindness, what if you can't smell anything and there was a stem cell program that allowed people the ability to get their sense of smell back?


Would there be groups of people saying "dude .. we don't need to be 'fixed'" all the while you have to remain about 20 feet away from them because their socks stink so bad and they don't use deodorant?

 

[sallylou]

Are you saying that deaf people annoy hearing people, just like smelly people? That's a strange perspective.

 

[kokonut]

No, not at all. But I think combat induced hearing loss is quite rare overall in the grand scheme of things.
Hearing loss is going to be very tough to cure, since it usually is the result of a perfect storm of all kinds of causes.

I didn't say combat but that is a big part of it. It's quite a common thing to see and that's hearing loss among soldiers, navy sailors, etc.

Disabilities of the auditory system, including tinnitus and hearing loss, were the third most common type, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the total number of disabilities among these veterans. For the roughly 158,000 veterans who began receiving compensation in 2003, auditory disabilities were the second most common type of disability. These veterans had approximately 75,300 disabilities of the auditory system out of a total of some 485,000 disabilities.

Large numbers of soldiers and Marines caught in roadside bombings and firefights in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming home with permanent hearing loss and ringing in their ears, prompting the military to redouble its efforts to protect the troops from noise.

Hearing damage is the No. 1 disability in the war on terror, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, and some experts say the true toll could take decades to become clear. Nearly 70,000 of the more than 1.3 million troops who have served in the two war zones are collecting disability for tinnitus, a potentially debilitating ringing in the ears, and more than 58,000 are on disability for hearing loss, the VA said. ...

Hearing loss is silent epidemic in U.S. troops - More health news- msnbc.com

Again, quite common and not rare.
Noise and Military Service: Implications for Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

And do you know that the U.S. Army and Navy have their own research on the prevention and cure/restoration for hearing loss? They've been at it for quite some time now.

Hearing Restored in Ototoxin and Noise-Exposed Animals
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA506577&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

"Perfect storm" or not, it's being done because they recognize it's a problem. Now, do you support a cure/restoration for troops to have their hearing loss restored?

 

[kokonut]

Are you saying that deaf people annoy hearing people, just like smelly people? That's a strange perspective.

Where did he say that? I saw none of that perspective from him.

 

[deafdyke]

why stop with blindness, what if you can't smell anything

If I recall correctly, most disablities are aquirred as a result of old age.
kokonut, no........you misunderstand. Combat induced hearing loss as a cause of hearing loss is overall pretty rare. It probaly doesn't even make a signifcient percentage point as a cause of hearing loss. But it is a common cause of disabilty in the military.

 

[A]

why stop with blindness, what if you can't smell anything and there was a stem cell program that allowed people the ability to get their sense of smell back?


Would there be groups of people saying "dude .. we don't need to be 'fixed'" all the while you have to remain about 20 feet away from them because their socks stink so bad and they don't use deodorant?

If they don't want to be cure, I won't force them. NO way I will force them. That would be cruel.

Beside most people don't realize they smell anyhow even if they do have good sense of smell.

 

[CJB]

The medical community will always have an audist and pathological view on deafness so it is nothing new that there is another attempt on "curing" deafness..

I cant speak for blind people..if they feel the same about cure for blindness or not. Not my place to form an opinion about a cure for it as I have never walked in their shoes.

It'd probably be divided, like with deafness. For a lot of people, "blind" is an identity. And for a lot of people, "blind" is a disease.

It's nice to have options for people, so they can choose to cure their blindness or deafness should they want it, but it shouldn't be forced on anyone who doesn't feel the need to be "fixed."

 

[shel90]

It'd probably be divided, like with deafness. For a lot of people, "blind" is an identity. And for a lot of people, "blind" is a disease.

Yea, good point.

However, because I am not a blind person, I would never ever tell blind people how they should live their lives especially how they should view their blindness. That's why I hate audists with a passion.

 

[CJB]

Yea, good point.

However, because I am not a blind person, I would never ever tell blind people how they should live their lives especially how they should view their blindness. That's why I hate audists with a passion.

It's not right for anyone to tell other people how to live. Blindness and deafness aside. Audism is just a deafness-specific case of people who feel the need to control others Syndrome. Often with a side effect of not being able to get past their own negative ideas about deafness.

 

[kokonut]

If I recall correctly, most disablities are aquirred as a result of old age.
kokonut, no........you misunderstand. Combat induced hearing loss as a cause of hearing loss is overall pretty rare. It probaly doesn't even make a signifcient percentage point as a cause of hearing loss. But it is a common cause of disabilty in the military.

It's common, not rare as studies have already shown when it comes to induced hearing loss from combat conditions in troops. Not about age-related hearing loss. This was about my hypothetical question to you regarding the cure of hearing loss related to the troop's job. Again, do you or do you not support for the cure/restoration of hearing loss for troops ?