Deafness reversed: One injection restores hearing in just weeks – ScienceDaily
8 hours ago
- #gene therapy
- #hearing restoration
- #medical breakthrough
- A new gene therapy successfully improved hearing in all ten patients with OTOF gene-related deafness, often within weeks.
- Using an AAV vector to deliver a functional OTOF gene via a single injection into the inner ear, patients showed rapid results, with hearing detection levels improving from an average of 106 dB to 52 dB.
- Younger patients, especially children aged 5–8, experienced the most dramatic improvements, with one 7-year-old achieving near-normal hearing within four months.
- The therapy, tested in patients aged 1–24, was found to be safe and well-tolerated, with only minor side effects like decreased neutrophils reported.
- Researchers plan to expand this approach to target other common deafness-causing genes (e.g., GJB2, TMC1) and continue long-term monitoring of patients.