Journal article
Neurotrophin Gene Therapy for Sustained Neural Preservation after Deafness
PJ Atkinson, AK Wise, BO Flynn, BA Nayagam, CR Hume, SJ O'Leary, RK Shepherd, RT Richardson
Plos One | PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE | Published : 2012
Abstract
The cochlear implant provides auditory cues to profoundly deaf patients by electrically stimulating the residual spiral ganglion neurons. These neurons, however, undergo progressive degeneration after hearing loss, marked initially by peripheral fibre retraction and ultimately culminating in cell death. This research aims to use gene therapy techniques to both hold and reverse this degeneration by providing a sustained and localised source of neurotrophins to the deafened cochlea. Adenoviral vectors containing green fluorescent protein, with or without neurotrophin-3 and brain derived neurotrophic factor, were injected into the lower basal turn of scala media of guinea pigs ototoxically deaf..
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Awarded by National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Funding Acknowledgements
Action on Hearing Loss (http://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/, The Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation, The National Institutes of Health (http://www.nih.gov/)(NIDCD HHS-N-263-2007-00053-c, NIDCD DC-006437, NIDCD P30 DC-04661, NICHHD P30 HD-02774), The University Of Melbourne Department Of Otolaryngology (http://www.unimelb.edu.au/), The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (http://www.eyeandear.org.au/), The Hearing Regeneration Initiative (http://www.hearingregeneration.com/), The Veterans' Hospital Administration, The State Government of Victoria's Operational Infrastructure Program (http://www.business.vic.gov.au/). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.