Genes activiated to create proteins to repair hearing

or

Neurotrophin-3 regulates ribbon synapse density in the cochlea and induces synapse regeneration after acoustic trauma

    Quote

 

In the Michigan/Harvard research, mice were first subjected to loud noises, causing them to lose some of their hearing via damage to their synapses. A group of those animals was then treated with a technique known as conditional gene recombination, in which drugs are used to activate genes in selected cells. In this case, the cells were in their inner ears, and they were triggered to produce more than the normal amount of NT3 (Neurotrophin-3) – this is a protein which plays a vital role in the production and maintenance of ribbon synapses.

After two weeks, the treated mice were found to have recovered much more of their hearing than an untreated control group.

Lead scientist Dr. Gabriel Corfas is now hoping to develop treatments for humans, in which drugs could be used to serve the same role as NT3. Getting the body to actually produce more NT3 (as was done with the mice) is another approach that could be taken, although Corfas claims that using pharmaceuticals to take its place would likely be simpler.

In either case, it will likely be at least several more years before a treatment is forthcoming. At this point, it's also not known whether it could be used to reverse complete hearing loss.

source paper

p. cool imO

I saw an article recently where they take cells from your nose and use it to repair spinal damage so you can have full body function again if you are quadra or paraplegic.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/paralyzed-man-walks-transplanted-cells-repair-spine/

I wonder what they did differently this time, i recall that woman that had the transplanted cells forming into nasal tissue in her back from a procedure carried out a few years ago. Nwae, it's all heading in the right direction isn't it.

  On 10/22/2014 at 11:20 PM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

I saw an article recently where they take cells from your nose and use it to repair spinal damage so you can have full body function again if you are quadra or paraplegic.

 

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/paralyzed-man-walks-transplanted-cells-repair-spine/

yeah, i saw that on tv... very promising!