MIT scientists are working on a treatment to cure deafness

Now, deafness can be cured without the need for hearing aids or cochlear implants. Indeed, the MIT scientific team behind the biotechnology company Frequency Therapeutics has discovered a new way to generate the growth of cochlear hair cells by programming a generative therapy of human cells called “progenitor cells”. Thanks to these regenerative cells, hearing loss can be reversed.

What is this deafness reversal therapy?

Humans have progenitor cells that reside in the inner ear. They produce hair cells, but they are dormant before birth and never develop into more specialized cells, such as those in the cochlea. Humans are born with around 15,000 hair cells in each cochlea, according to the study in SciTechDaily. But, these cells die over time, especially when exposed to excessive noise or high doses of medication.

The treatment consists of injecting molecules into the inner ear, then transforming the existing progenitor cells into other cells capable of developing cochlear hair cells. This approach is much simpler than traditional gene therapy based on the patient’s own cells, which must first be reprogrammed in the laboratory.

Could this new treatment actually cure deafness?

According to statements of Chris Loose, co-founder and CEO of Frequency, “ speech perception is the primary goal of hearing improvement “. And it turns out that some of those improvements lasted almost two years, reports Futuristic. Separately, the company says it has dosed more than 200 people and seen significant clinical improvements in speech perception in three different clinical studies.

However, another study found no difference in hearing between the treatment group and the placebo group, but the scientists attributed this to issues in the trial design. But now Frequency is planning a 124-person trial, with preliminary results expected early next year.

In short, studies conducted by MIT scientists seem to show signs of improvement to the problems of deafness. They’re excited to help people improve their hearing with testing, and they also plan to make meaningful contributions to solving problems that affect more than 40 million people in the United States and hundreds of million worldwide.