Mr Microbiology very informative piece on Gene Therapy (2)

I came across a Mr Microbiology's (who is a Microbiologist who hails from New Zealand) posts which are very good :

"I have been chasing for more information on the internet again and found some information on the research efforts and goals Genvec has towards a hearing loss treatment with Novartis.http://www.docstoc.com/docs/31792069/Ge ... Transcript (external link, opens new browser window)The most promising parts of this transcript is the talk of treatments moving towards the clinic or a phase 1 trail.They wouldnt say if or when because Novartis now has the rights to the hearing loss programme but the fact that they talking about it is good news.
Mr Microbiology
29 Mar 2010 04:58
hi Mr MThanks for the info. Do you any contact that can throw some light whether the gene therapy is good for long term deafness ? There is some concern that it is only for 10-days' old deafness only
wongtanlim3 at yahoo.com
29 Mar 2010 05:18
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/news/releases/10/02_04_10.htm (external link, opens new browser window)http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2 ... sound.html (external link, opens new browser window)
wongtanlim3 at yahoo.com
29 Mar 2010 05:43
Hi , have a look at this page on genvecs website ; http://www.genvec.com/go.cfm?do=Page.View&pid=120 (external link, opens new browser window)All the company information I have seen in regards to Genvecs technology seems to be based on hearing damage that has been in the longer term.They look like they are aiming at this market.Makes sense to because this is where the money will be made.I know there are limitations to atoh therapy in long term hearing loss but maybe genvec has some extra technology that has not been released that allows atoh to work for this type of hearing loss.
Mr Microbiology
29 Mar 2010 06:38
thanksI really hope so also.Do you have hearing loss and T ? How does it occurred ?
wongtanlim3 at yahoo.com
29 Mar 2010 15:00
Hi Wongtanlim3 ,a couple of years ago I had a hearing test through work ( government scheem in New Zealand ).My hearing was perfect 250 to 4000 at 0 db and 4khz to 8khz were actually - 5db both ears.I had never heard of Tinnitus before until I had two weeks of an antibiotic which knocked out a few frequencies of hearing in my left ear.Was a shock when I started to hear a high pitch kettle like sound in my left ear and it didnt go away.The worst thing is when the doc tells you nothing can be done !!!My personal opinion is that Tinnitus is directly correllated with hearing loss.The brain is deprived of neural input at certain frequencies so it compensates by plastic changes and in neuronal activity.Get the hearing back , normalise the brain.So the ultimate cure for my type of T is going to be a hearing treatment not a drug like Neramexane that temporarly suppresses overactive neurons (NMDA Receptor Neurons) but dosent treat the cause to start with.I would still take Neramexane in a heartbeat if it was available here.As for the mystery of people that get T with noramal hearing well thats just it , a mystery.I know that when I have talked to some friends and family about T a surprise was that some of them had noticed sounds in the quiet when going to sleep but only when they looked for it.Even my 13 yr old niece said she heard whistling sounds at night before sleep ,I had to reassure that nothing was wrong ,it dosent bother her now.Did you know that Good human hearing is so sensitive that if it was a few decibels more sensitive people could hear atoms collide ;http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Arc ... n-gap.html (external link, opens new browser window)Maybe normal hearing sensitivity covers up and drowns out normal natural tinnitus (normal brain auditory activity) the one that everyone is supposed to get in extremely quiet surroundings and when we lose hearing the ability to cover this natural tinnitus signal is lost.But who knows really just yet , I just want the devils chorus gone out of my head and I think that will be done by restoring hearing !!!
Mr Microbiology
30 Mar 2010 00:30
Mr. Microbiology,You are absolutely wrong. Tinnitus and hearing loss are not co-related. My grandfather has severe hearing loss up to 70-80 db but no tinnitus and I know many people with severe hearing loss but no tinnitus.NMDA receptors in the cochlea of the inner ear is the root cause of the tinnitus originating in the inner ear. AM-101 jab has completely suppressed the tinnitus in Phase I Trial of people with noise induced hearing loss with a time scale of upto 90 days. The big question is that whether it will work for people with chronic tinnitus or not.Ototoxicity has cause your tinnitus not hearing loss.
Superstar
30 Mar 2010 01:22
hi Mr MicrobiologyI am on the same page as you. I too believe by restoring my hearing (lost suddenly by virus or tiny blood vessel blockage - nobody can be sure), my T will be gone. I just need a simple experiment to prove this : once I wear ear plug and can hear the high frequencies again, I do not hear my T anymore.And I too is of the view that normal ear also hear T. One expert I consulted told me ask anyone to go into a ultra silent room and they come out reporting they can hear all sorts of sounds.Once Rivolta's tests on animals is ok, they will move on to human and we will be home.
wongtanlim3 at yahoo.com
30 Mar 2010 01:47
Superstar , Ototoxicity and hearing loss go one in one.AM101 is a promising drug.It does sound like it works for people with recent damage but how much hearing loss is there afterwards.It neutralises the effects of excessive glutamatein the cochlear nerve soon after damage and so retards the tinnitus signal preventing the brain from centralising and recording Tinnitus which would lead to overactive NMDA receptors in auditory pathways.I have read that the overactivity of the cochlear dies down anyway over time after ear trauma but its the brain that develops tinnitus.It would be interesting to know what the success rate is in people left with a significant hearing loss after treatment.Sudden hearing loss leads to rapid neuronal changes and plasicity in the audiotory cortex and brain.A theory that sudden changes of audiotory input has been studied and may cause the inbalance of excitatory and inhibatory audiotory processes being more towards excessive excitatory pathways causing T.Slow consistant hearing loss may allow the brain to adapt to audiotory change correctly over time preventing T.This may explain why some people dont have T but have hearing loss.Another thing being studied is the loss of neuronal activity and sound processing in the audiotory cortex and brain as people age.This leads to hearing loss even when the mechanics of the ear are adequate to produce the acoustic signals.This also may shine light why there is hearing loss but no T.The brains sound processor is less active.I have found out some of my extended family have T but they also have hearing loss.If you cut the auditory nerve from the brain in tinnitus patients most will continue to have tinnitusThere is no cochlear influence at that time.I read a story about a girls older sister that use to venture to the nightclubs all the time and developed T.The younger sister had seen how her older sister suffered and became so paranoid and obssessed over her own hearing she wore earplugs for weeks.She developed a high ptiched whistle in her ear and was diagnosed with T.She went through 3 months of tinnitus retraining therapy before the T left her.For me I think my T is directly linked to my hearing loss.I have no hearing loss in my right ear and no T.Hearing loss in the left ear and screaming kettle T.My mother has hearing loss but no T so I know where your coming from superstar but at the end of the day statistically hearing loss and tinnitus are very correlated.I am just happy that all avenues for curing tinnitus are being taken especially hearing regeneration !!!Its great to be born in a time with great technology.Not so great to be the one requiring it.
Mr Microbiology
30 Mar 2010 06:37
I have tinnitus in both ears but hearing loss in the left only that was caused by a loud bang next to my left ear. Surprisingly, although my tinnitus in the left ear is higher pitched and so more uncomfortable, the tinnitus in the normal hearing right ear is much louder.
tj
30 Mar 2010 12:16
Hi Mr M.. there was a forum user who has left now who got tinnitus after many years of wearing ear plugs at night to sleep. That sounds very similar to the girl you describe. Her forum nickname was Angiepoos (I think).
tj
30 Mar 2010 14:10
Hey tj , I read the story on a website somewhere about T but cant remember where , tried to find it but couldnt.Anyway I read my last posts and actually found them a bit to "know all" my apologies.T does seem to happen for all sorts of reasons and its not necessarely just hearing loss.I hope only to post valuable information and not let my own opinions get in the way. Best regards to all.
Mr Microbiology
30 Mar 2010 22:58
Mr M I like your posts the most. You are humble, knowledgable and post valuable information. Keep em up. And you too wongtanlim3! Your constant posting of and treatments for hearing loss provides hope and interesting reading.
tj
31 Mar 2010 00:49"