Rinri Therapeutics

[LovableGamer]

Hold up... is this going to require immunosuppression?

Current and emerging approaches to cochlear immunosuppression with translation to human inner ear stem cell therapy: A systematic review

Good find! It sounds like it could be helpful for stem cell regeneration, which may help us hear again. We are getting closer and closer.

 

[Scruffiey]

Good find! It sounds like it could be helpful for stem cell regeneration, which may help us hear again. We are getting closer and closer.

I would not consider this a positive outcome. I struggled with a six-week course of mild nasal steroids, so the idea of having to take Prednisone for the rest of my life pretty much rules me out of Rinri.

I believe it can have quite harmful effects in general.

In my opinion, this limits the potential of this approach until new methods of immunosuppression are developed, or until they are able to use the individual's own stem cells to prevent rejection.

It will still be incredible to see if it works, but for the average person with mild hearing loss and tinnitus, it feels like we are once again further away than I had hoped.

 

[Nick47]

Hold up... is this going to require immunosuppression?

@Scruffiey, we do not know yet. The current thinking is that, for most patients, probably not. The inner ear is a unique environment and may not require immunosuppressive drugs. This is where Rinri is at in terms of their thinking.

 

[Scruffiey]

@Scruffiey, we do not know yet. The current thinking is that, for most patients, probably not. The inner ear is a unique environment and may not require immunosuppressive drugs. This is where Rinri is at in terms of their thinking.

@Nick47, I think I may actually be slightly in love with you. This was the glimmer of hope I needed to keep going.

 

[pants]

Hold up... is this going to require immunosuppression?

Current and emerging approaches to cochlear immunosuppression with translation to human inner ear stem cell therapy: A systematic review

It seems unclear because in the summary of that paper it says the following...

Several animal studies utilising stem cell treatment of the cochlea have not employed immunosuppression, and investigators did not detect evidence of an immune or inflammatory reaction within the cochlea. Many of these authors concluded that the cochlea displays immunological privilege that is sufficient to allow xenotransplantation

but the paper did also say this...

Importantly all studies employed a relatively short period before animal sacrifice and histological and immunohistochemical assessment of the cochlea. The potential for longer term, chronic rejection of transplanted cells has therefore not been investigated.

 

[Wolfka]

Hold up... is this going to require immunosuppression?

Current and emerging approaches to cochlear immunosuppression with translation to human inner ear stem cell therapy: A systematic review

It might help, but only for a short time. When you receive stem cells, even your own, doctors need to prepare your body by suppressing your immune system. This is because the stem cells have been altered and are no longer in their original state. However, after a few months, you are taken off immunosuppressants and no longer require them.

 

[Scruffiey]

It might help, but only for a short time. When you receive stem cells, even your own, doctors need to prepare your body by suppressing your immune system. This is because the stem cells have been altered and are no longer in their original state. However, after a few months, you are taken off immunosuppressants and no longer require them.

Don't worry, there is enough love to go around for both you and @Nick47.

I can manage a short course.

 

[withintention]

Why do we think this could help people with tinnitus? It appears that the treatment is expected to benefit individuals with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL).

Are we expecting it to help those who have tinnitus as a result of SSHL?

 

[Nick47]

appears that the treatment is expected to benefit individuals with Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL).

@withintention, no, the participants will be with age-related hearing loss.

 

[Victoria76]

I'm keeping a close eye on this. If it progresses to the stage where it's established as safe, and they just need a larger trial with people who have less severe hearing loss to show that it works well enough to bring to market, I would certainly consider volunteering. It's encouraging to see a company working on this that is close enough for me to reach.

Although, on reflection, I probably wouldn't be considered suitable. I don't know whether my hearing loss is due to otosclerosis related to my osteoporosis. I have no idea how to find out. I'm praying it's hair cell damage instead, possibly caused by a suicide attempt with Aspirin in my teens, along with years of taking antidepressants and experiencing weight gain. Of course, it could be both.

Another thing—somebody ought to ask Rinri if they have taken the scarring problem into account. This seems to be a point of contention in the FX-345 thread. Hopefully, they have developed a solution involving stem cells, which can reverse scarring. If that technology is improving, we might still be in with a chance.

 

[Scruffiey]

I'm keeping a close eye on this. If it progresses to the stage where it's established as safe, and they just need a larger trial with people who have less severe hearing loss to show that it works well enough to bring to market, I would certainly consider volunteering. It's encouraging to see a company working on this that is close enough for me to reach.

Although, on reflection, I probably wouldn't be considered suitable. I don't know whether my hearing loss is due to otosclerosis related to my osteoporosis. I have no idea how to find out. I'm praying it's hair cell damage instead, possibly caused by a suicide attempt with Aspirin in my teens, along with years of taking antidepressants and experiencing weight gain. Of course, it could be both.

Another thing—somebody ought to ask Rinri if they have taken the scarring problem into account. This seems to be a point of contention in the FX-345 thread. Hopefully, they have developed a solution involving stem cells, which can reverse scarring. If that technology is improving, we might still be in with a chance.

Hopefully I will see you there!

Can anyone truly be sure whether their hearing damage is due to hair cells or nerves? It is almost always likely to be a combination of both.

The clinical trial requirements might focus only on age-related or degenerative disease hearing loss in an attempt to account for that. We will probably have to wait a couple of years to find out more.

I believe Rinri is based on research from Japanese scientists who placed stem cells directly onto glial scars. It clearly worked well enough in vitro to justify moving forward.

While the discussion in the FX-345 thread does concern me—suggesting that we may be stuck with permanently weakened ears and, at best, reliant on a cocktail of drugs with unpredictable side effects to manage our conditions instead of even a semi-permanent repair—it is based entirely on an AI response. That response may have been trained using opinions from this very forum and could lack nuance.

As always, I look forward to @Nick47 hopefully providing his much more informed perspective.