Stem Cell Solution for Hearing Loss Makes Progress

[n2doc]

Stem Cell Solution for Hearing Loss Makes Progress
By Janelle Weaver May 13, 2010 | 3:34 pm | Categories: Biology



If a few too many AC/DC concerts have you now turning up the volume on hearing aids instead of headphones, a new stem cell study in mice is reason for hope.

A team led by Stefan Heller of Stanford University set out to elucidate basic principles of how the inner ear detects sound. But they also created batches of cells that can potentially replace damaged ones in the ear. Their findings are published in the May 14 issue of Cell.

“We basically looked at how nature makes the inner ear, and what is known about the developmental processes involved, and then we just mimicked them in a test tube,” Heller said.

The inner ear contains tiny hair cells that deform when sound waves hit them. Little is known about how these cells transform acoustic waves into neural signals that we interpret as sound, Heller said.

Hearing has remained mysterious compared to other sensory modalities, such as vision, because the inner ear is less accessible and there are relatively few hair cells. Like certain eye cells, hair cells generally don’t regenerate once they die. Therapies using stem cells, or cells derived from embryos that can turn into myriad cell types, can potentially restore normal hearing.



Read More http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/05/stem-cells-hearing/

[Bobbieo]

1. Sounds promising - could use a few stem cells!