To help with the treatment of hearing loss in children, scientists from Tel Aviv University have developed a gene therapy for deafness based on the delivery of genetic material into the cells of the inner ear. The genetic material ‘replaces’ the genetic defect and enables the cells to continue functioning normally.
In a study published in December 2020, the scientists reported that this new therapy could lead to a breakthrough in treating children born with various mutations that eventually cause deafness.
The scientists focused on a rare genetic deafness resulting from a gene mutation which causes damage to sound wave receptors essential for hearing in the cochlea. “Children inheriting the defective gene from both parents are born with normal hearing, but they gradually lose their hearing during childhood,” says Prof Karen Avraham, the lead researcher.