Inner Ear Hair Cell Regeneration — Maybe We Can Know More

[NuNu]

Interesting that "lower-order" animals such as birds and fish can regenerate their ears as hearing is crucial to their survival. Not the case with "higher order" animals such as man.

Can't see hair cell regeneration in man happening in my lifetime but clearly a hot topic at present

But what about in woman?

 

[Rubenslash]

Interesting that "lower-order" animals such as birds and fish can regenerate their ears as hearing is crucial to their survival. Not the case with "higher order" animals such as man.

Can't see hair cell regeneration in man happening in my lifetime but clearly a hot topic at present

On what do you base your statement? Seems like this is the first time you hear about HC regeneration so stop making silly predictions based on nothing.

 

[Artur]

It's already happening.

Specially now with the new biotechnologies coming at the turn of this decade, with CRISPR and new forms of gene therapies.

 

[Flamingo1]

Can't see hair cell regeneration in man happening in my lifetime but clearly a hot topic at present

You must be planning on dying soon.

 

[jeff W]

It's already happening.

They won't believe even when it's done.

 

[grate_biff]

Can't see hair cell regeneration in man happening in my lifetime

One can be well informed and positive.
One can be uninformed and positive.
One can be well informed and sceptic/negative.
One can be uninformed and negative.

You, sir are the latter, and just a wast of space, I´m afraid!

 

[dingaling]

On what do you base your statement? Seems like this is the first time you hear about HC regeneration so stop making silly predictions based on nothing.

I have in my possession industry standard and benchmarked Springer books which publish peer-reviewed research about hearing in animals and man at the molecular level so these people who have conducted the research know what they're talking about

 

[dingaling]

One can be well informed and positive.
One can be uninformed and positive.
One can be well informed and sceptic/negative.
One can be uninformed and negative.

You, sir are the latter, and just a wast of space, I´m afraid!

Sticks and stones....

 

[dingaling]

You must be planning on dying soon.

Yes, I will probably die before you - who knows?

I look forward to the clinical trials en masse on real people and the trials will be such a success that deafened people will be queuing up for surgery.

I wager this queue won't happen in my remaining lifetime

 

[acufenero]

At least he's funny... or trying to!

I suggest you all not to waste a single more minute with him

 

[Benoves]

There are many companies on the run i quess, so why not? Atm Im trying to habituate with my T, but hoping 10 years from now there Will be a cure, at least for T.

 

[jeff W]

There once a lived a great mind who warned us to constantly revise our beliefs with respect to disease processes in the ear, (unlike ours) his generation made "huge" leaps in disorders of the ear. There was Harold Schuknect and there is everyone else. Had he lived today, I have no doubt he would be involved in disruptive technology to repair the damaged ear. This chapter from Baloh on Schuknect's quest against quackery in Otology for everyone's book collection.

http://docdro.id/HSyXV0L

 

[Kate Winstol]

this

You guys are being awful hard on these ENT's. To be fair there is nothing out now and no one knows when it will come out. All we have is lots of research going on that might lead to something. I was pretty excited about the Genvec trials and that lead nowhere. Frequency is next and hopefully that leads to something but there are no guarantees how or on who it will work. I hate to say it but they are right. My ENT said non-reversible hearing loss and tinnitus. At first I was mad and thought he was pretty heartless, but he was and still is right and he will be right for at least 5 years from now at a minimum.

THIS!

 

[RB2014]

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/ru-ies110317.php

https://www.actiononhearingloss.org...ving-delivery-of-stem-cells-to-the-inner-ear/

I don't think these have been posted. Lets keep the thread to facts and not speculation.

 

[IAmCalifornia]

THIS!

nah I disagree my ENTs were dirtbags, I wanted to punch one or kill so bad. Still do but that's just because of my deteriorating mental state (thanks tinnitus, the gift that keeps on giving).

I wait and wait and wait, MONTHS, several of them... and they see me for 2 minutes? ZERO effort to find out, potentially, what is causing the tinnitus. NO EFFORT. Nothing. Not even MRI referral. Just, "oh hai, good hearing, now leave!". The other, "uh, well, yeah! sorry this is happening to you!". You want me not to be hard on them? This condition has ruined my life, and my career. They didn't even try and that's why I hate ENTs. They didn't even say, "hearing loss", just... "DUNNO!". And didn't bother beyond that. I wouldn't feel as PISSED if they tried... oh I dunno doing their job? Maybe stick a camera up my nose, CAT/MRI, something? Nope, just a big eff you! Sorry, I guess since I don't have a serious condition, this isn't a big deal to ENTs, but it has ruined me. I barely feel human

 

[Samir]

On reddit I've talked to Biology PhD Candidates researching the inner ear whom had no clue cochlear regeneration was even a thing. They had no clue companies like Frequency tx, Decibel tx, Acousia tx, Audion, etc. even existed.

You made me curious! What state or country were these students from?

It literally blew my mind that they didn't even know about any of this. Is cochlear regeneration so niche' of a topic?

I don't think it's a niche topic. Regenerative medicine in all of its glory is a subject that has been widely discussed and fiercely debated in media. It is certainly not unheard of in the medical field or among professional researchers and educators.

Some people maybe got stuck on discussing the ethics of using embryonic stem cells, and could not see past that. Some may be just out of the loop, not in touch with the latest developments in science and technology. Some may not have a pressing need to see these scientific advancements get a green light so they never bother reading the science section of the newspaper.

Regardless! Regenerative medicine, and personalized medicine is the medicine of the 21 century! Biology students should have come in touch with regenerative medicine at some point, regardless of what their specialty is. But being a PhD candidate in otology and not knowing about these efforts to regenerate the hair cells is a bit surprising. But not as surprising as working in the field for the last 20 to 30 years and not knowing anything about it.

 

[Samir]

@RB2014, this is a pretty spectacular picture.

"A stem cell-derived neuron grafted onto a mouse cochlea in the inner ear that lacked neurons. The new neuron is marked red, hair cells that convert sounds into neural signals are green, and hair bundles are blue."

 

[Benoves]

http://www.menafn.com/1096071619/Ea...ic-and-Stem-Cells-Approach-to-Restore-Hearing

What about this?

 

[Samir]

What about this?

That looks like another reason to be hopeful!

With this company, we are now at 29 companies working towards reversing sensori-neural hearing loss.

 

[Aaron123]

What about this?

Here's the company's web page: https://ear-cell.com/

There's not really any useful information, and at this point I am pretty skeptical. The "scientific articles" are a joke. In contrast to the Draper Laps pump, there's no information on the "FluidSync micropump".

Maybe there is something there. Happy to be wrong, but I am not holding my breath.

 

[Makrohn]

Not to mention all the other medical companies working with different research that could lead to a breakthrough in e.g. hearing loss. I'm saying the focus should not entirely be on those who are doing research on the inner ear... There are numerous examples of meds being developed for one thing then ending up curing something completely different.

And with all the research going on and how fast we are moving on, I am having a hard time believing we wont see a cure or relief within 10 years of time.

 

[Jim51042]

stem cell-derived neuron

Are these stem cells that convert into neurons the same stem cells that frequency uses to convert into hair cells? Would doing one procedure make the other less effective? If so what is more important for tinnitus many more neuron connections or new hair cells connections?

https://newatlas.com/stem-cell-hearing-cancer-risk/52108/

 

[Aaron123]

Are these stem cells that convert into neurons the same stem cells that frequency uses to convert into hair cells?

No. The Song et al paper is doing something completely different and is very much basic science research.

 

[Jim51042]

basic science research.

Thanks. Let's hope that they commercialize this soon.

 

[Samir]

Not to mention all the other medical companies working with different research that could lead to a breakthrough in e.g. hearing loss.

Speaking of which...

While various snake-oil salesmen claim to offer products that can cure baldness, science hasn't been able to crack the mystery of how to stimulate hair regrowth.
...
As with many fascinating scientific breakthroughs, this one came by accident, with a team of dermatology researchers at UT Southwestern inadvertently making the discovery while investigating a rare genetic form of cancer.

Source: https://newatlas.com/balding-grey-hair-breakthrough-skin-cells/49407/

 

[Leo Pappas]

If anyone is interested this video was just uploaded half an hour ago. Its by frequency inc. it said at the beginning of the video.

 

[Aaron123]

If anyone is interested this video was just uploaded half an hour ago. Its by frequency inc. it said at the beginning of the video.

It's a video of Chris Loose who is the Chief Scientific Officer at Frequency. There's no new information though he does clarify the difference between progenitor cells and stem cells which folks seem to confuse sometimes. You can see some more info about Chris Loose at http://bigthink.com/experts/chris-loose

 

[Reinier]

I get the impression he is addressing the scare some people have that stem-cell therapies can turn into uncontrolled growth of cells.

 

[Christian78]

I get the impression he is addressing the scare some people have that stem-cell therapies can turn into uncontrolled growth of cells.

They can turn to uncontroled and after 10 years turn to tumors

 

[Reinier]

They can turn to uncontroled and after 10 years turn to tumors

After 10 years? Has that happened?