I have been following regenerative approaches since 2016 and have observed many developments. The same applies to Dr. Susan Shore and other approaches specifically for tinnitus management.
Past hearing regeneration efforts discussed on Tinnitus Talk, like Frequency Therapeutics and others, focused on singular objectives, primarily targeting either IHC and OHC (inner and outer hair cells) or synapses.
For example, Frequency Therapeutics' approach focused on regenerating IHC and OHC by proliferating supporting cells, but it did not address synapse regeneration. Additionally, the regenerated IHC and OHC sometimes grew irregularly, although I am unsure how significant that issue is.
To illustrate, you can compare IHC and OHC to car parking sensors. If your parking sensor malfunctions, your car's computer shows a warning. Similarly, if the wiring harness is cut or unplugged, the computer generates an alert. I believe something similar happens with hearing and tinnitus. When the brain senses it has lost connection to the "parking sensors" (IHC and OHC), it cannot determine the exact cause but generates a warning signal—tinnitus.
If we ever aim to address the root causes of most hearing loss and tinnitus, such as SSHL (sudden sensorineural hearing loss), SNHL (sensorineural hearing loss), NIHL (noise induced hearing loss), or ototoxicity from drugs, we must repair both IHC and OHC as well as synapses.
I recall seeing a theory suggesting that tinnitus could often arise more from the loss of synapses than from IHC and OHC damage.
If this company only focuses on repairing synapses, it might reconnect missing synapses to still-functioning IHC and OHC, which could bring some benefits. However, in my opinion, it would not fully resolve the problem. That said, if someone loses synapses while their IHC and OHC remain somewhat functional, this drug, if effective, could have practical benefits.
Another researcher worth mentioning is Dr. Zheng Yi Chen, who is rarely discussed. As I understand it, his team's research does not focus solely on IHC and OHC repair or synapse repair. It addresses both.
I watched a 2023 interview where Dr. Chen discussed his research and mentioned two areas of focus:
- Genetic hearing loss (people born deaf)
His team identified specific genes that were not functioning properly and conducted a small proof of concept trial in Shanghai (late 2023 to early 2024) involving six children born deaf. Remarkably, five out of the six regained hearing. This differs from typical hearing loss because individuals born deaf lack functional IHC and OHC, which prevents them from generating electrical signals in response to sound vibrations. This progress is groundbreaking and had never been achieved before.
- Acquired hearing loss (e.g., SNHL, NIHL, ototoxicity)
For acquired hearing loss, Dr. Chen's approach involves gene therapy. He described it as "turning the clock backward" in the inner ear by tricking it into a developmental stage. This process activates dormant genes and enables the ear to rebuild missing structures based on the DNA blueprint.
His team conducted proof-of-concept tests on lab mice and wild mice. In his words, "it worked beautifully." If I remember correctly, the repair cycle took about four to six weeks, similar to the speed at which birds regenerate their hearing.
Despite this success, Dr. Chen mentioned challenges they were addressing, such as the delivery method. For example, precise inner ear injections currently require cutting behind the ear. Additionally, while the viral vector used for the tests was effective, it was not ideal. They are already developing a better and safer viral vector for future use.
Apologies for the lengthy post, but I wanted to outline everything clearly. This company may be the only one nearing clinical trials in the short term, but other promising advancements could be on the horizon.
Member
