Hearing Loss Products and Services
Advertise on Hearing Loss Web
Search This Site or the Web

Free Email Newsletter

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Hearing Loss Web Banner
Discussion Forum
Hearing Loss Events
Last Update: July 20

 

Home

About Us

Search this Site

New to Hearing Loss?
In the News

Discussion Forum

HOH-LD-News

Advertise

Contact Us

Glossary

Events

 

Issues

Access

Oral Communications

Emergency Planning

Employment

Family

Hearing Aid Affordability

Identity

Law Enforcement

Psychological

Services

 

Medical

Audiology

Causes

Cures

Meniere's Disease

Tinnitus

Local Resources and Events
 
Employment Opportunities
 
Education Opportunities
 

Hearing Loss Products and Services

Advocates and Legal
Alerting Devices
Assistive Listening Devices
Business Services

Captioning

Financial Services
General Stores

Government

Health Products and Services
Hearing Aids
Hearing Aid Accessories
Hearing Aid Batteries
Hearing Aid Maintenance
Hearing Aid Repair
Hearing Dogs
Hearing Loss Organizations
Hints and Tips
Kids' Stuff
Medical Products and Services
Pagers

Publications

Relay Service
Sign Language Materials
Telecommunications Distribution Program

Telephones

Travel

TTYs (TDDs)

TTY Repairs

Two-Way Pagers

Technology

Alerting Devices

Assistive Listening Devices

Cochlear Implants

Hearing Aids

Speech Recognition

Telephones

Two Way Pagers

TTYs (TDDs)

Visual Communications

Links

Can Stem Cells Cure Deafness?

See also our coverage of hair cell regeneration, some of which which includes stem cell applications.

November 2005 - Stem cells could cure deafness in ten years.

November 2005 - You may remember Stefan Heller as the researcher who identified stem cells within the inner ear back in 2002. Following his discovery, the idea of treating hearing loss using stem cells really took off. Dr. Heller has just moved his lab to Stanford to take advantage of California's progressive views on stem cell research. Here's the press release, which includes a good overview of his current work and his plans for future research.

August 2006 - Stem Cells May Be Key To Deafness Cure

December 2006 - First blood and bone stem cell research on deafness

February 2007 - Stem Cell Transplants Possible Hearing Loss Treatment

February 2007 - Tech Could End Deafness

April 2007 - Cochlear Stem Cells May Lead to Repaired Hearing

June 2007 - Stem Cell Therapy Recovers Lost Hearing

October 2007 - Stem Cell Research Reveals Improved Hearing Possible

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stem cells could cure deafness in ten years.

Scientists at Britain's Sheffield University are hoping that stem cell research could lead to a cure for deafness within ten years! Laboratory tests have demonstrated that embryonic stem cells have the capability to regrow in damaged areas; animal testing is planned within two years.

 

Here's the full story.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Stem Cells May Be Key To Deafness Cure

 

August 2006

 

In a dusty, cluttered lab at Stanford University, a team of young scientists is on a quest. Curing deafness is the goal, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Kaledin, and Stefan Heller says stem cells hold the key. Heller and his entire team were recruited away from Harvard, and they've made a breakthrough discovery: They've found that stem cells have the capacity to regenerate in the inner ear.  Full Story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First blood and bone stem cell research on deafness

December 2006

Deafness Research UK is funding a new research programme that will be the first to try and develop a cure for deafness using stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood or bone marrow. This three-year project will be based in the Centre for Stem Cell Biology at the University of Sheffield and has been made possible by a £126,000 charitable donation from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).  It will be the first research to use these promising new lines of stem cells, which are less controversial than stem cells derived from human embryos, in the search for a cure for deafness.   Full Story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tech Could End Deafness

February 2007

"We have a good chance of getting normal hearing back in normal ears," said Richard Schmiedt, an otolaryngology professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. The stem-cell approach involves restoring the tiny "hair cells" in the ear that convert sound into electrical impulses. When the cells die, people permanently lose their hearing. Bringing back the cells through stem-cell transplants, along with a shock of electricity, could restore hearing, scientists say. At Stanford University, professor Stefan Heller, who discovered stem cells in the inner ear, believes they can be used to cure deafness in mice within five years. Heller and his colleagues are trying to learn from birds, which do not become deaf, the secret genetic recipe for warding off hearing loss.  Full Story

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stem Cell Therapy Recovers Lost Hearing

June 2007

Stem cells injected into the inner ear survived in half of the injured rats, where they migrated away from the site of injection toward the injured region within the inner ear. These stem cells divided in the new environment and expressed several proteins necessary for hearing, suggesting tissue-specific differentiation. Further, transplanted cells that migrated to the damaged area of the inner ear displayed shape similar to that of cochlear fibrocytes. Importantly, transplanted rats exhibited faster recovery from hearing loss, particularly in the high frequency range, which is difficult to restore by natural regeneration. Stem cell migration into the damaged area of the inner ear improved hearing of high frequency sound (40 kHz) by 23% compared to natural recovery in untreated animals.  Full Story