Gene Therapy after Hearing Loss

Abstract

Purpose: The most common cause of deafness is due to the loss of cochlear hair cells and a degeneration of the sensory epithelia. The degeneration of the sensory epithelia leads to a degeneration of the auditory nerves, which are the targets for cochlear implant stimulation. This work aims to prevent the degeneration of the auditory nerves and regenerate the cochlear hair cells. Methods: Adenoviral vectors which have been modified to encode for brain derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-3 or the transcription factor Atoh1 were injected into the cochlear scala media of deafened guinea pigs (n=5 for each group). Cochleae were examined after 3, 7, 11 or 24 weeks of treatment. Results: A..