Autifony Therapeutics Phase I Study for AUT00063, for the Treatment of Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

[tomytl]

@Grace it's not about scientists, it's about VCs & Pharma corporations, those are the people who decide what problem is worth being tackled (when it's expected to be financially viable). The good thing is that it works like an economic bubble once one is investing on a cure, all competitors follow just to make sure not to lose a competitive advantage. This is why we are seeing a burst of money since 2013 being invested in finding a cure for T.
Plus most health NGO are forecasting the problem to become major, it's a major problem for veteran, and the US gov is losing a shit lot of money because of T. So everyone is getting more & more concerned.

It's more than likely that we see a cure or at least a viable relief by 2016/2017. And more & more options will become available by 2020.
A point we also forget is that Japan is working super hard on a cure too as their demographic is changing. Indeed the amount of people above 50 is sky rocketting. Japan actually sells more diapers for old people than for babies. T. is a dominant issue for this +50 generation, and the market is massive.

Ironically, I am kind of happy that I had tinnitus before it becomes something easily curable, this shit helped me to build a f**** tough mindset without the danger of some other more serious diseases! haha

Hi benryu,

another fact is also, that major pharma running out of their patents. So they need new markets.
Tinnitus and Hearing Loss would be in every case a huge blockbuster, also just they would have a medications
with 20% of effacy.
The outomes of Auris Medical and also Novartis/Genvec will show, if they are on the right way.
But it's hardly to imagine, that this field will stop, it will increase with the power of
computers and also possibilities of growing and testing tissue and their functionality in dishes.

Greets Tom

 

[Grace]

@Grace it's not about scientists, it's about VCs & Pharma corporations, those are the people who decide what problem is worth being tackled (when it's expected to be financially viable). The good thing is that it works like an economic bubble once one is investing on a cure, all competitors follow just to make sure not to lose a competitive advantage. This is why we are seeing a burst of money since 2013 being invested in finding a cure for T.
Plus most health NGO are forecasting the problem to become major, it's a major problem for veteran, and the US gov is losing a shit lot of money because of T. So everyone is getting more & more concerned.

It's more than likely that we see a cure or at least a viable relief by 2016/2017. And more & more options will become available by 2020.
A point we also forget is that Japan is working super hard on a cure too as their demographic is changing. Indeed the amount of people above 50 is sky rocketting. Japan actually sells more diapers for old people than for babies. T. is a dominant issue for this +50 generation, and the market is massive.

Ironically, I am kind of happy that I had tinnitus before it becomes something easily curable, this shit helped me to build a f**** tough mindset without the danger of some other more serious diseases! haha

Ahhh your awsomeee!

 

[Littlebailey]

You got teenagers and young folks getting it in droves, what is it, one in five teens with permanent ringing in their ears? That's phenomenal. And not in a good way. That's a massive number. You've got even larger numbers of returning soldiers with it, tens of thousands.

I would think, as far as the economics go and the financial reward potential, that the critical mass is already here. Furthermore, if they do come up with a de facto 'cure', every single last T sufferer in the world will want it. For all the folks who only experience it mildly, or have already habituated and got on with their lives, and are "living with it", I would think they'd come out of the woodwork. Especially if it's just popping a pill.

And for what it's worth, a cure would be a profound thing, a profoundly good thing, like going to the moon or something. The sort of thing to take immense pride in as a medical achievement and social good. They still have to do it, and it's not here yet. But considering how awful T is, and how increasingly rampant, it's a must-have cure. It may be that it's time has finally come, even though it's probably pretty subtle and tricky, like all things involving the brain.

 

[tomytl]

You got teenagers and young folks getting it in droves, what is it, one in five teens with permanent ringing in their ears? That's phenomenal. And not in a good way. That's a massive number. You've got even larger numbers of returning soldiers with it, tens of thousands.

I would think, as far as the economics go and the financial reward potential, that the critical mass is already here. Furthermore, if they do come up with a de facto 'cure', every single last T sufferer in the world will want it. For all the folks who only experience it mildly, or have already habituated and got on with their lives, and are "living with it", I would think they'd come out of the woodwork. Especially if it's just popping a pill.

And for what it's worth, a cure would be a profound thing, a profoundly good thing, like going to the moon or something. The sort of thing to take immense pride in as a medical achievement and social good. They still have to do it, and it's not here yet. But considering how awful T is, and how increasingly rampant, it's a must-have cure. It may be that it's time has finally come, even though it's probably pretty subtle and tricky, like all things involving the brain.

Hi,
but we don't have to forget, that it's not just the market. There are many labs/uni's and organisations
looking for a cure or treatment without any financial interest. So one of the main problem is the complexity and also the complexity to make trials. If there is a different between stress-induced T and T from noise or blasts they need
seperate tests, because they maybe have a different origin.
And it's difficult to make phase II & III trials with victims of blasts or other "physical" induced T's.
But I agree, the market would generate a lot of money.
Otherwise it would silence many other tinnitus treatment markets...
In the other hand, it's quite speculative always see a bad influence of money behind everything.
There are really many hard working researchers, they just want to help their patients.

 

[Kimbo Slice]

Hi,
but we don't have to forget, that it's not just the market. There are many labs/uni's and organisations
looking for a cure or treatment without any financial interest. So one of the main problem is the complexity and also the complexity to make trials. If there is a different between stress-induced T and T from noise or blasts they need
seperate tests, because they maybe have a different origin.
And it's difficult to make phase II & III trials with victims of blasts or other "physical" induced T's.
But I agree, the market would generate a lot of money.
Otherwise it would silence many other tinnitus treatment markets...
In the other hand, it's quite speculative always see a bad influence of money behind everything.
There are really many hard working researchers, they just want to help their patients.

Well Auris Medical for example, will give you a hearing test before taking part in their trial. I'm pretty sure that's what separates the both of these. I think that if T is stress induced, then there won't be hearing loss. Just my two sense.

 

[Littlebailey]

One good thing is that there really aren't any other treatments. That's whole thing of it. I'm pretty sure the promoters of 'Tinnitus Miracle' don't have the clout to keep down something like autifony. It sucks that everything has to be slowly approved. Maybe with the apparently huge incidence on young folks getting T to one degree or another, and again all those vets, they can fast-track the treatments that do come down the pike.

I really hope the army stays strong with their newfound interest in finding a treatment/cure.

And as far as autifony goes, It would seem like it doesn't matter what the cause is. It's snuffing it out at the source, regardless of the condition of your ears. Hopefully.

 

[bill 112]

Just an opinion here but I honestly dont think hearing loss is really the cause for T or H.I have studied and studied some more about the ear and the auditory brain and have spoken to many people I know who has T and yet none of them has a hearing loss,they hear perfect.I also know people who are hard of hearing who dont have T that regularly go clubbing or go to concerts and never experience T or any problems from going to such loud events but yet anyone with T can risk making it worse by attending such events even once!!Dont get me wrong im sure the ear plays a role in this but there are so many ways of developing T whether it be stress,brain surgery,coming off certain meds,loud noise,high blood pressure the list goes on and on there are hundreds of them!!But yet there are only four main causes for hearing loss ototoxic medication,noise exposure,birth defect or natural ageing process but very few of these people will actually experience T as a result of their hearing loss but im sure some do.From everything ive studied so far about T and the auditory brain my conclusion is this that T is all the same no matter what was the trigger T is most certainly connected with chemicals and interactions within the brain.Nobody has ever gone deaf from taking anti-depressants but yet so many has experienced T upon discontinuation.The anti-depressants job is to play around with chemicals in the brain and has nothing to do with the ear but yet when we experience T we immediately associate it with the ear because we hear it but may truly have very little to do with the actual ear itself i.e the cochlea.From the tonnes of literature ive read about the auditory brain they point to one essential thing about how the brain conducts sound and how its sent through the brain and that is ion gated channels the very thing Autifoney is working on.This is why I truely believe Autifoney will be the winner of this race for a cure from what ive studied and what Autifoney are targeting with aut00063 it makes perfect sense to me.LECTURE OVER haha best wishes Bill.

 

[mmacabre]

@bill 112 , that's why I'm having a lot of hope for Autifony, because I believe my T and H were mostly triggered by antidepressants and antidepressant withdrawal. Combined with too much loud music, I feel like the ion channels got all overstimulated and out of whack, contributing to a chronic state of dysregulation. I too have no hearing loss (even up through 20khz) and have had ABR and cochlear emissions testing that have come out normal, so while I experience my T and H as severe, there is no evidence of auditory damage per se. I just hope that I'm not being too optimistic when I hope that the AUT drug will also help my hyperacusis (or that such ion channel dysregulation is not only the root of tinnitus, but also the root of associated sound sensitivities)

 

[t-man]

I really hope the army stays strong with their newfound interest in finding a treatment/cure.

Better hope we hit Syria or return to clean up the mess we started in Iraq. We're out of Afghanistan now so let's hope the government doesn't lose interest.

 

[Littlebailey]

Better hope we hit Syria or return to clean up the mess we started in Iraq. We're out of Afghanistan now so let's hope the government doesn't lose interest.

Ha! But it's true, we're not much at war anymore. I don't think that's going to make a difference.

And to add, I just looked at an Washington Post article which stated that up to '06, the military reported 400,000 vets suffering with, and merely between '06 and '08, 93,000 new cases. Unless I somehow read that wrong. Those are massive numbers. They also went into a little detail about the associated costs and benefit payouts the military is saddled with T sufferers, and how those costs and payouts will last over time. So they would seem to have plenty of motivation to find a cure.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030902266.html

Apparently they paid 418 million in 2006 alone in T benefits. I don't know how much a cure would reduce that burden, but the military would definitely seem to have a high financial interest in finding a cure, even if only returning/returned vets. And there's always the next war, and a whole 'nother round of new cases.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-sty...suffer-hearing-loss-tinnitus-article-1.258192

 

[bill 112]

@bill 112 , that's why I'm having a lot of hope for Autifony, because I believe my T and H were mostly triggered by antidepressants and antidepressant withdrawal. Combined with too much loud music, I feel like the ion channels got all overstimulated and out of whack, contributing to a chronic state of dysregulation. I too have no hearing loss (even up through 20khz) and have had ABR and cochlear emissions testing that have come out normal, so while I experience my T and H as severe, there is no evidence of auditory damage per se. I just hope that I'm not being too optimistic when I hope that the AUT drug will also help my hyperacusis (or that such ion channel dysregulation is not only the root of tinnitus, but also the root of associated sound sensitivities)

In Autifonys literature they specifically speak about H and that aut00063 is targeted at this also.In their literature they dont refer to it as H but as a hypersensitivity syndrome.You prove my theory and belief perfectly and like you I have no hearing loss.Ive done audiograms OAES (was too afraid of the BAR)and my audiologist said I have a perfectly functioning cochlea.So if the theory is its the brain filling in the gaps for hearing loss what gap is it filling in if there is no hearing loss??To me this theory is too contradictable with too many variables to make sense.To me voltage gated ion channels would make more sense its my belief that whatever was your trigger whether it be meds or a sound exposure that these channels are too excitable and have forgotton how to calm down.Autifony will teach them how to.Best wishes Bill.

 

[bill 112]

@bill 112 , that's why I'm having a lot of hope for Autifony, because I believe my T and H were mostly triggered by antidepressants and antidepressant withdrawal. Combined with too much loud music, I feel like the ion channels got all overstimulated and out of whack, contributing to a chronic state of dysregulation. I too have no hearing loss (even up through 20khz) and have had ABR and cochlear emissions testing that have come out normal, so while I experience my T and H as severe, there is no evidence of auditory damage per se. I just hope that I'm not being too optimistic when I hope that the AUT drug will also help my hyperacusis (or that such ion channel dysregulation is not only the root of tinnitus, but also the root of associated sound sensitivities)

Also my audiologist describes T and H perfectly.He says T and H are two sides of the same nut.You crack the nut you crack them both.

 

[dan]

@Littlebailey , @bill 112 , most logical posts.

Now somebody answer me why they aren't announcing success of Phase 1 trials, when it was suppose to be finished in Q1 and we are now finishing Q2... ? In other words when do announcements usually come? - is it just as the next phase begins?

Also can we assume that the rat's auditory system is very similar to humans and therefore if tinnitus was abolished in all the rats, then it would be the same in humans?

 

[Stina]

@dan I think they finished the trials in the end of March and might be gathering data. Also sometimes they wait for conferences to announce the results there

 

[Littlebailey]

@dan I believe that's the thinking. So it's I suppose it's still quite unknown whether it will work in humans, obviously. I'd like to think that all theoretical work applies to how it would work in human brains, which of course are way more complex than rat brains. But basically similar. And so they test it on the rats just to get the ball rolling, and the original thinking that it could/will work on humans is still on point, and if it does appear to work on rats, well then that's just all the better, as they expected/hoped it would.

 

[lapidus]

@Littlebailey , @bill 112 , most logical posts.

Now somebody answer me why they aren't announcing success of Phase 1 trials, when it was suppose to be finished in Q1 and we are now finishing Q2... ? In other words when do announcements usually come? - is it just as the next phase begins?

Also can we assume that the rat's auditory system is very similar to humans and therefore if tinnitus was abolished in all the rats, then it would be the same in humans?

I think i read somewhere that mice hearing system is much like the human hearing system. They also managed to grow a human ear on a mouse's back once, but i have no idea what the purpose of that experiment was or if it even has something to do with hearing at all.

 

[benryu]

I think i read somewhere that mice hearing system is much like the human hearing system. They also managed to grow a human ear on a mouse's back once, but i have no idea what the purpose of that experiment was or if it even has something to do with hearing at all.

It was the proof of concept before growing a penis on a horse's head.

 

[Asian]

I was just reading some old conversations about Autifony treatment and learned that it may have a good potential in treating T. But it is specifically targeted for people with noise induced T. I was wondering that if at all tinnitus has a common mechanism(whatever it is) regardless of its cause then shouldn't treatments like Autifony or VNS work on everybody atleast to some extent? They say tinnitus might be originating somewhere in the brain or auditory pathways then I guess the drug should work on everybody as they are specifically targeting those areas and the cause shouldn't matter that much right ?

My heart sank when I am realising that most of the treatments they are working are being targeted for noise induced T. What about concussion induced or whiplash induced tinnitus ? Do we have a hope at all even if it is still 10 years away? I know my T might subside or I may habituate to the point I may not worry about the treatments so much. But keeping some hope keeps us going regardless of how bad it may get.

 

[seal]

At this point I really wouldn't worry about it if I were you. No one has understood the mechanisms of tinnitus until now so it might absolutely be that those treatments work for every kind (or most) kinds of tinnitus or - let's be honest here and face it - that none of those new treatments work for any kind of tinnitus at all. I don't think a cure is that close to worry about if it will work for special kinds of T or not.. We will just have to wait what the future brings for all of us no matter if our tinnitus is noise induced or something else!

 

[nills]

Although people say that tinnitus moves around the brain and stuff like that, the fact is that tinnitus is a sens perception regarding the ears ... it its not like we are tasting salt all the time or feeling pins and needle on the back of our feet, no we hear a sound. So i believe that if the brain parts causing it are treated for tinnitus it really does not matter how you got it. It is the same place in the brain or close to the hearing cortex or recieving thalamus that is disfunctional. just two cents of logical thinking.

 

[MattK]

My guess will be that no, it will not work for all. I only say this because I don't know of any established treatment that is 100% effective for everyone. But, I know what you mean is will it be able to cure tinnitus regardless of the reason for having it. I would have to say that it certainly could be a possibility. Tinnitus is a symptom of an underlying cause... and it is possible to eliminate the symptom without eliminating the underlying cause. Sort of like how aspirin helps with a headache. A headache is actually a symptom, and aspirin essentially eliminates the symptom, but the underlying cause is still there.

 

[Littlebailey]

This is something I've been totally wondering about too. With Autifony, it's my understanding, if you can call it that, the whatever the cause, any cause at all, if the brain is sending those signals we all experience as T, that the drug will prevent/discourage/stop such sending of signals - end of story. Or at least that's the common-sense reading of it. Obviously there could be more to it. And perhaps Autifony the company markets it as a hearing-based aid or cure, mainly because most T is caused by hearing loss of some degree or another, and that's the most appropriate way to package it as a commercial consideration.

But autifony also says almost boldly in their literature, that it's not an ear problem, it's a brain problem. And to the extent they're right, what would it matter what's causing it? The mechanism of the bogus signal that we hear as T should seemingly be the same for everybody. And that's what the drug aims to knock out, the T signal, even if most of the time the cause of the creating of those T sounds is damaged ears in one form or another. As long as the brain is making those T sounds, Autifony will act to cancel them out.

That's definitely what I'm hoping for. And it seems to make layman's sense to me.

 

[Penelope33]

But headaches go away, pain goes away, pins and needles goes away. Every other effin sensation can go away.....why can't tinnitus just go away!!!!!!

 

[Stina]

I dont think even scientists know that. Only time can tell.

 

[Grace]

Would be cool if it was like asprin but eliminates the T instead of the headache so the underlying cause would still be there like hearingloss but im sure we wouldnt mind some hearing loss but without the T!!!

 

[Littlebailey]

I dont think even scientists know that. Only time can tell.

Of course. But they did seem pretty keen on how it seemed to cure T in mice. No way to ask the mice personally, I know, but as far as that goes, it's a good start.

 

[Stina]

Of course. But they did seem pretty keen on how it seemed to cure T in mice. No way to ask the mice personally, I know, but as far as that goes, it's a good start.

yeah my point was that they dont know whether it will work on everyone but yes of course they dont know if it will work on us as we are not rats.

 

[Grace]

It really sucks how they have to do trials so slowly.. Once they determine if the drug is safe i wish they could just give it to someone with chronic T at a high dose and then find out if it works. Like volunteers that sign a waver or something. In reality they already have the drug made and all they have to do is 1. Find out if its safe and then 2. Give it to people! It could be a week process thing. I know its wishful thinkin and thats not the way things go and that they need a large group of placebo to compare but damn just frusterating.

 

[lapidus]

It really sucks how they have to do trials so slowly.. Once they determine if the drug is safe i wish they could just give it to someone with chronic T at a high dose and then find out if it works. Like volunteers that sign a waver or something. In reality they already have the drug made and all they have to do is 1. Find out if its safe and then 2. Give it to people! It could be a week process thing. I know its wishful thinkin and thats not the way things go and that they need a large group of placebo to compare but damn just frusterating.

I think they want to know how the drug works in the long run. If it's safe for long time use and of course if it will work in a long time use. That's why these things take time. They have to do follow ups on everything. But I'm with ya buddy! Just give it to us and we will see if it works or not

BTW, was it really necessary to start a new thread about this? This should be in the Autifony thread IMO.

 

[Tom Soria]

Hi, I just made an account to ask when we could expect to hear the results of the phase 1 trial autifony are doing? I am suffering alot right now and this is the one thing keeping me from giving up hope, so any replies would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.