Drug delivery to the inner ear

Abstract

Introduction Auditory neurons, the target cells of the cochlear implant, undergo progressive degeneration following deafness, ultimately leading to cell death. We have previously demonstrated that the intracochlear delivery of neurotrophins, via a mini-osmotic pump, protects the auditory neurons and also promotes undirected regrowth of their peripheral processes in the guinea pig. These survival effects were enhanced when the neurotrophin treatment was combined with chronic intracochlear electrical stimulation from a cochlear implant. However, an effective strategy to safely deliver neurotrophins, or indeed any therapeutic, to the inner ear is yet to be established. Our research aims to deli..