Frequency Therapeutics — Hearing Loss Regeneration

Another day, another signalling pathway...

https://www.futurity.org/hearing-loss-cochlear-regeneration-1888982/

One of the authors is Albert Edge, co-founder of Audion Therapeutics, co-researcher with some of the Frequency Therapeutics team in the days before Frequency Therapeutics. The trouble with reading this stuff is that there is no-one to bring it together and make sense of it in a global context. Each lab reports its work in isolation. They all talk about how their work holds hope for future hearing loss treatments but they don't mention that there are treatments in clinical trial right now.

How many signalling pathways have a role in hair cell regeneration? Do they have to be co-ordinated? How much do we really know? It seems that there should be some sort of global co-ordinator out there who identifies which pieces of the puzzle are missing and directs specific labs to try to find those missing pieces. Instead, they all meander along, following their own inclinations... I'm pretty sure they'll get there in the end though- hopefully while I'm still alive.
I think they are seeking their own paths so they can be the ones that get the glory and the patents and ultimately money and recognition while we slowly deteriorate.
 
I think it should but it probably won't. Tinnitus makes people suicidal, which is fatal, but this drug isn't being tested to treat tinnitus, it is for hearing loss. Moreover, not all tinnitus is from hearing loss. If we have tinnitus with hidden hearing loss, we may be ineligible even when this is released.

I don't want to go offtopic by discussing how obsolete ENT tests are, but I do have a question:

Do ENTs consider high frequency hearing loss to be "hidden" hearing loss? Or are we talking about a different type of hearing loss?
 
I think it should but it probably won't. Tinnitus makes people suicidal, which is fatal, but this drug isn't being tested to treat tinnitus, it is for hearing loss. Moreover, not all tinnitus is from hearing loss. If we have tinnitus with hidden hearing loss, we may be ineligible even when this is released.
I think hair cell regeneration could also help hearing loss not detected by tonal audiograms.

I can't imagine it doing nothing.
 
I think it should but it probably won't. Tinnitus makes people suicidal, which is fatal, but this drug isn't being tested to treat tinnitus, it is for hearing loss. Moreover, not all tinnitus is from hearing loss. If we have tinnitus with hidden hearing loss, we may be ineligible even when this is released.
If not all tinnitus is from hearing loss then the damage can be to the nervous system itself... and not hair cells?
 
I think hair cell regeneration could also help hearing loss not detected by tonal audiograms.

I can't imagine it doing nothing.
Agree, just because ENTs don't test 8-20 kHz doesn't mean medicine will magically skip over that part of the cochlea :)
 
Agree, just because ENTs don't test 8-20 kHz doesn't mean medicine will magically skip over that part of the cochlea :)
You also need to know hidden hearing loss isn't just over 8 kHz.

it also can mean trouble hearing speech in background noise within 250 Hz - 8 kHz because of damaged cochlear ribbon synapses or certain hair cells that work as amplifiers.
 
If not all tinnitus is from hearing loss then the damage can be to the nervous system itself... and not hair cells?
Judging by your audiogram and complaints of hearing damage, it's obvious your tinnitus was brought about by SNHL.
 
Do ENTs consider high frequency hearing loss to be "hidden" hearing loss? Or are we talking about a different type of hearing loss?
They're different.
Hidden hearing loss is hearing loss that doesn't show on a hearing test. High frequency hearing loss does show on a hearing test if the test covers those frequencies.
 
Nothing is ever hidden if you know where to look.

If you're an audiologist or an ENT doctor and you only administer a standard hearing test up to 8 kHz, then you can't really call high frequency hearing loss above 8 kHz as "hidden" hearing loss.

To put it differently...

The moon does not simply disappear when we are not looking at it. ~ Einstein
 
The term "hidden hearing loss" was originally coined by two British researchers. I recall posting about this once. I even contacted them about this and they confirmed my findings. It was later adopted by professor Charles Liberman from MEEI and has been attributed to him ever since.

Technically, "hidden hearing loss" refers to a type of synaptopathy, specifically cochlear synaptopathy. Where synapto refers to synapses and -pathy denotes a disorder. Disorder of the synapses! That is to say, a loss of synapses or malfunction of synapses.

It's much easier to just say "hidden hearing loss", isn't it? That's why it became a popular term. But it has nothing to do with whether or not high frequency hearing test is done or not.

I suppose we could also say that hidden hearing loss is the "N" in SNHL. That's the "neural" in "sensori-neural hearing loss". There is no easy way to measure neural hearing loss unless the nerve is cut off completely, or by a differential diagnosis using several different tests and looking at the patient's medical history.
 
The term "hidden hearing loss" was originally coined by two British researchers. I recall posting about this once. I even contacted them about this and they confirmed my findings. It was later adopted by professor Charles Liberman from MEEI and has been attributed to him ever since.

Technically, "hidden hearing loss" refers to a type of synaptopathy, specifically cochlear synaptopathy. Where synapto refers to synapses and -pathy denotes a disorder. Disorder of the synapses! That is to say, a loss of synapses or malfunction of synapses.

It's much easier to just say "hidden hearing loss", isn't it? That's why it became a popular term. But it has nothing to do with whether or not high frequency hearing test is done or not.

I suppose we could also say that hidden hearing loss is the "N" in SNHL. That's the "neural" in "sensori-neural hearing loss". There is no easy way to measure neural hearing loss unless the nerve is cut off completely, or by a differential diagnosis using several different tests and looking at the patient's medical history.
That's why the Otonomy drug for hidden hearing loss is BDNF, which doesn't regrow hair cells, but restores the synapses.
 
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Seriously though, seems far off to assume that tinnitus would be considered in the US as a terminal condition. If we got a slightly more loose definition then maybe.
 
Very early.

Phase 2 starts in 2019. Let's say that takes 1-2 years.

Next is a phase 3 that can take anywhere from 1-4 years.

There will probably be a peer review, add 1 more year.

I would say anywhere between 2022-2026.
Under normal circumstances I would agree with this time line, however, this is not normal circumstances.

If phase 2 shows positive results there is going to be immense pressure to get this out ASAP by the US government for veterans.

https://www.military.com/benefits/v...us-is-number-one-disability-for-veterans.html
 
Under normal circumstances I would agree with this time line, however, this is not normal circumstances.

If phase 2 shows positive results there is going to be immense pressure to get this out ASAP by the US government for veterans.

https://www.military.com/benefits/v...us-is-number-one-disability-for-veterans.html
That and they aren't just set on curing hearing loss. They want to expand to other areas. They aren't going to spend 10 years on ears alone. They made it their mission statement, they want to be the first ones figuring it out. If they fail with this then it'll be harder for them to gain any more investors.
 
Does anyone know if FX-332 is going to be or has been planned to be "fast tracked" by the FDA/Frequency Therapeutics under one of these 4 conditions:

https://www.fda.gov/forpatients/approvals/fast/default.htm
Would make sense to "fast track" it. It certainly is an unmet market.

What I´m hoping for is an "Open phase III", which mean we could get the drug as fast as 2 years from now.
That would be the fast "fast track" option.

Anybody know any examples where an "Open phase III" was being conducted?

I just heard about this as an option from someone on this forum.
 
Does anyone know if FX-332 is going to be or has been planned to be "fast tracked" by the FDA/Frequency Therapeutics under one of these 4 conditions:

https://www.fda.gov/forpatients/approvals/fast/default.htm
I doubt it. Why would they fast track it when they don't know if it seriously works yet?

They'll have to show sufficient evidence to prove that they should be allowed to fast track their drug.
 

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