Developed a new method for the treatment of hearing loss

Northwestern University scientists have made a breakthrough in the treatment of irreversible hearing loss by addressing the causes of hearing loss due to aging, noise, and some cancer treatment drugs.

Transforming inner hair cells into outer hair cells

In the study, which focuses on ear hair cells, which surround the inner ear and are the basic sensory cells for hearing, the study focuses on ear hair cells, which are restored in hearing after factors such as aging and excessive noise cause the cells to die. A new treatment method was researched for the regeneration of ear hair cells to prevent irreversible deterioration or to restore the loss.

The outer hair cells, whose death causes deafness and hearing loss, develop in the embryo and then do not reproduce, expand and contract in response to the pressure from the sound waves, increasing the sound so that the inner hair cells transmit the sounds to the neurons.

As a result of their experiments on mice, the researchers realized that they needed to work on the main gene switch called TBX2, which they defined as the main regulator of inner and outer hair cell differentiation. They observed it coming.

Research team, He says that turning the gene on and off and using a cell as a bidirectional (both inner hair cell and outer hair cell) is an important method for treating hearing loss.