Engineered ear cells could help restore hearing -- expert

Engineered ear cells could help restore hearing -- expert
PATRICIA REANEY

LONDON, MARCH 26: Within the next five years scientists may be able to engineer and replace damaged cells in the ears of deaf people to help them hear again. The engineered cells will work in tandem with cochlear ear implants to restore hearing to long-term deaf people, Professor Matthew Holley, an expert on sensory physiology at the University of Bristol, told a London medical conference on Monday.

Cochlear implants are small devices that are surgically implanted in the ear to stimulate the auditory nerve. They have helped young children and the newly deaf to hear but are not suitable for long-term deaf people with very damaged auditory nerves.

Scientists have already used stem cells master cells that can be trained to form virtually any cell in the body to make brain and muscle cells for transplant. But they were not sure whether they would be able to engineer cells in the ear, a tiny and specialised organ. ‘‘What we have done is engineered them from the mouse and we have shown that you can actually make different cell types in the ear and thus it is theoretically possible to do that with human cells,’’ said Holley.

The technique is already being used by British bio-technology company Re Neuon Holdings Ltd, a spin-off from the Institute of Psychiatry, to regenerate damaged parts of the brain. In a presentation to Monday’s conference on genetics and deafness, Holley said the ear cells could improve contact between the cochlear implant and the brain to restore hearing. ‘‘This opens up the prospect of making implants more effective and using them on a much wider scale. We may be in a position to make these advances in three to five years’ time,’’ said Holley.

Engineered cells may also eventually be able to restore hearing without the use of an implant, but Holley said that would be in the more distant future.

Reuters