![]() ![]() In the cochlea, sound waves are translated into electric pulses carried by nerve cells to the brain, where they are interpreted as sound. ![]() The OTOF gene encodes the otoferlin protein, produced by cells in a snail-shaped part of the inner ear called the cochlea. Those in the current trial had an OTOF mutation called DFNB9, which affects 2 to 8 percent of all cases of genetic deafness from birth. ![]() Approximately 200,000 people worldwide are deaf due to a mutation in the OTOF gene. Hearing loss affects more than 1.5 billion people worldwide, Chen said, including about 30 million cases of genetic impairment in children. This has given us a real boost of confidence.” “Now we can move forward in humans quickly. Chen added that the study provides proof-of-concept that prior work in laboratory animals does translate to humans. “This really opens the door to developing other treatments for different kinds of genetic deafness,” said co-senior author Zheng-Yi Chen, HMS associate professor of otolaryngology head and neck surgery and a researcher at Mass Eye and Ear’s Eaton-Peabody Laboratories. The work, conducted in Fudan, China, by a team co-led by Harvard Medical School researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and by collaborators at Fudan University’s Eye & ENT Hospital, treated six children aged 1 to 7 who had a mutation of the OTOF gene, which manufactures a protein important in transmitting signals from the ear to the brain.įive of the six children showed improvement in hearing over the 26-week trial, with four outcomes described by researchers as “robust.” With hearing a critical factor in language acquisition, researchers also measured speech perception - the ability to recognize sound as speech - and all five of those who responded to treatment showed improvement there.įindings were published Jan. The method, which overcomes a roadblock presented by large genes, may be useful in other treatments, according to researchers. The gene therapy technique used in the study overcomes a roadblock presented by large genes and may prove useful in developing treatments for other forms of genetic deafness.Ī novel gene therapy approach has given five children who were born deaf the ability to hear. ![]() The five participants who responded to treatment showed improvement in the ability to recognize sound as speech.Trial treated six children aged 1 to 7 who had a mutation in the OTOF gene, which manufactures a protein important in transmitting signals from the ear to the brain.References supporting the literature are provided throughout the text. Listening tasks that challenge the child.The therapeutic methods presented are founded upon evidence-based research, as well as practical experience obtained in pre-schools, classrooms, clinics and parent-advisory centres. The use of a hearing-loss simulator to develop speech and language clarity in communication partners is also discussed. It contains basic activities for listening practice, and provides methods for adaptive auditory assessment, conversation-based therapy, telephone-communication training and self-help communication strategies for hearing-impaired children. The book serves as a guide to intervention and practice for teachers, parents, speech pathologists, audiologists and other health professionals. Online Organisational Development AssessmentsĪuditory Communication for Deaf Children shows adults how to become better communicators in order to help hearing-impaired children maximise their listening skills, and develop their spoken language and conversational competence. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |