Sensorineural hearing loss is the most common type and is a result of loss of sensory hair cells in the cochlea-auditory portion of the inner ear. Scientists have discovered a way to regenerate these hair cells which will improve hearing in mammals, according to a report in Medical Xpress.
Hair cell loss in mammals is commonly noted and cannot be regenerated unlike, those in fishes or birds. Although hearing aids and cochlear transplants are ways to improve hearing, no treatment has been discovered so far that effectively treats hearing disorders. The study is the first of its kind, which is a step ahead in the treatment to restore hearing.
"Hair cells are the primary receptor cells for sound and are responsible for the sense of hearing," said senior author, Dr. Albert Edge, of Harvard Medical School and Mass. Eye and Ear, according to Medical Xpress. "We show that hair cells can be generated in a damaged cochlea and that hair cell replacement leads to an improvement in hearing."
Researchers at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School conducted an experiment in order to regenerate the hair cells in an adult mammalian ear. A deaf mouse was drugged into the cochlea to regenerate the resident cells to form new hair cells which resulted in partial recovery of hearing. As a result of treatment with the drug, the supporting cells regenerated to form new hair cells. The newly-formed hair cells improved the hearing ability of the deaf mouse.
"The missing hair cells had been replaced by new hair cells after the drug treatment, and analysis of their location allowed us to correlate the improvement in hearing to the areas where the hair cells were replaced," Dr. Edge said. "We're excited about these results because they are a step forward in the biology of regeneration and prove that mammalian hair cells have the capacity to regenerate. With more research, we think that regeneration of hair cells opens the door to potential therapeutic applications in deafness."
The study is published in the latest issue of Neuron.