Breakthrough in 2024

 Hi, i am back after some 11 years from my post in 2014.

Whether you are 1st time reading my post or following me, welcome!

Here is an update 

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/mar/world-first-trial-regenerative-hearing-drug-successfully-completed

1st human trial candidate of gene therapy - can balance better already

See:
http://www.9news.com/story/news/health/2014/11/29/hearing-loss-gene-therapy/19669727/

Human trial starts using Atoh1 via gene delivery virus

This is really exciting news. See :

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22229662.400-deaf-people-get-gene-tweak-to-restore-natural-hearing.html#.VHCwisIcSmQ

cord blood stem cell trial

hi all

1. One of my readers has provided this link :

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/cord-blood-stem-cells-restore-hearing-toddler/story?id=16750718#.Ucyqbz5bU7E

2. Personally I find it suspicious.

3. Please DO NOT rush into having one yourself , until you hear more from your medically-qualified ENT doctors, because another reader has provided me with another update by Stefan Heller at a 2011 Summit which showed a mouse having a big cancerous tumour on the face / ear area after being injected from a lab experiment :
http://vimeo.com/33254501

An update from Stefan Heller at 2011 Summit

hi

1.One of my readers provide me with this link 
http://vimeo.com/33254501

2.Regards

first time that hair cells can be regenerated in an adult mammalian ear by using a drug

I have exciting news :

Researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School have demonstrated for the first time that hair cells can be regenerated in an adult mammalian ear by using a drug to stimulate resident cells to become new hair cells, resulting in partial recovery of hearing in mouse ears damaged by noise trauma. This finding, reported in the Jan. 10 issue of Neuron, holds great potential for future therapeutic application that may someday reverse deafness in humans.

In the experiment, the researchers applied a drug to the cochlea of deaf mice. The drug had been selected for its ability to generate hair cells when added to stem cells isolated from the ear. It acted by inhibiting an enzyme called gamma-secretase that activates a number of cellular pathways. The drug applied to the cochlea inhibited a signal generated by a protein called Notch on the surface of cells that surround hair cells. These supporting cells turned into new hair cells upon treatment with the drug. Replacing hair cells improved hearing in the mice, and the improved hearing could be traced to the areas in which supporting cells had become new hair cells. “The missing hair cells had been replaced by new hair cells after the drug treatment,” Edge said, “and analysis of their location allowed us to correlate the improvement in hearing to the areas where the hair cells were replaced.”
This is the first demonstration of hair cell regeneration in an adult mammal. “We’re excited about these results because they are a step forward in the biology of regeneration and prove that mammalian hair cells have the capacity to regenerate,” Edge said. “With more research, we think that regeneration of hair cells opens the door to potential therapeutic applications in deafness.” :

See :
http://hms.harvard.edu/news/hearing-restored-after-noise-damage-1-9-13

Sep 2012 news on human stem cells restore hearing loss in animals

Dear all

Some updates on using human stem cell for treatment of hearing loss, caused by damage to the nerve line connecting the cochlea to the brain.


"...Stem cells have been differentiated into auditory nerve cells before, but this is the first time that transplanted cells have successfully restored hearing in animals..."


http://www.nature.com/news/human-embryonic-stem-cells-restore-gerbil-hearing-1.11402

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/sep/12/deaf-gerbils-hearing-stem-cell-injections

http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/13/scientists-restore-hearing-in-animals-using-human-stem-cells/

Using Teeth To Help Restore Hearing Loss

I sure can use my teeth for my hearing loss.

Quote ".. Leaving the audiologist's office, she says she almost cried when she heard a sound on her right—high heels clicking on the sidewalk—for the first time in 10 years..." Un-quote.

Sure sound like me..)

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/07/10/using-teeth-to-help-restore-hearing-loss/#ixzz2EBeTPyqd

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/07/10/using-teeth-to-help-restore-hearing-loss/

Gene Therapy trial for blindness now and for Hearing tomorrow ?

hi people

How are you today / tonight ?

Well I wish to share good news . Gene therapy has moved into human trials for blindness. I read at least three gene delivery vehicles are being tested.

It means somehow the scientists are able to overcome some really big obstacles, like how to prevent cancer tumours from forming & how to prevent our own immune system from attacking the invaders, both the vehicles and the healing agents they carry.

A day will come when the vehicles can carry the hair cells generating Atoh1 gene into our inner ear and filled our cochlea with functioning hair cells again !

See
http://www.blindness.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3111:usher-syndrome-gene-therapy-study-begins-in-oregon&catid=67:usher-syndrome&Itemid=123

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year 2012

hi all

This 2011 has been come back very fast and will be gone in a couple of weeks.

There is some dark clouds gathering in the likes of the euro troubles. I think it could get quite challenging and more people will feel stressed out and perhaps got the sudden hearing loss I have 2 years ago on 4 Jan 2010.

Stress is the No.1 leading cause of all the dreaded illnesses that befall humans.

So let's cheer up!

I have here my favourite Christmas song :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kbb3skLR0Bo&feature=player_embedded

Challenges for finding a cure

This is a great article:

http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/articles/haircellchallenge.htm

Test of sudden hearing loss

Just come across this article. Wish I have read it when I got my Sudden Hearing Loss :


http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/articles/medicalemergency.htm

Helping Others Will Lessen One's Pain / An online help group ?

hi all

I recently heard over the radio an interview with a lady who narrate how she got into depression . She got herself out of it by doing social service to help others, by focussing on others.

It work for me!

Also recently thinking whether we should set up an online help group (like the one who help alcoholic) , as I believe many fellow sufferers would go into depression (like myself) ..

GSK supplies more fuel to the battle front with hearing loss with human trial possibly from 2013

GSK joins battle .

Human trial possibly from 2013. See :


http://www.inpharm.com/news/165362/gsk-biotech-uk-autifony-therapeutics

Update of me

hi all

It has been a while since I post. Just an update of myself :

I have grown accustomed to my left ear hearing loss and its resultant tinnitus.

But I am still very much everyday watching at the horizon for the dawn of hearing to come.

If you have problem coping, or like to ask me a question, feel free to e-mail me at my email wongtanlim3@yahoo.com

Fully Invisible Hearing Aid

See :

http://www.envoymedical.com/

See FDA approval and some critics' view here :

http://topnews.us/content/213643-fda-approves-first-totally-implanted-hearing-aid


I wonder if later gene therapy / stem cell therapy becomes available, whether one can still go for the hair cell regeneration or the Esteem procedures would kill off my ear hair cells (like cochlea implant does)?

As advised by me in my home page, please seek all the necessary medical advice before you embark on this or any other procedures highlighted by me, or others.

Some success in gene therapy by Sound Pharma

Some success in gene therapy by Sound Pharma:


http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ucla-and-sound-pharmaceuticals-identify-a-key-hearing-regeneration-protein-in-the-human-inner-ear-116856853.html

Nanotechnology Vs Sensorineural hearing loss :

Nanotechnology Vs Sensorineural hearing loss :

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wnan.125/pdf

Hopes to see more development here and elsewhere.

Just last week, I read 2 persons have gotten sudden hearing loss last year, like me ( I got mine on 4 Jan 2009) ..

Hearing with your nose

Hearing with your nose: How nasal stem cells could tackle childhood hearing problemsStem Cell scientists in Australia have found that patients suffering from hearing problems which began during infancy and childhood could benefit from a transplant of stem cells from their nose. The research, published today in STEM CELLS, reveals that mucosa-derived stem cells can help preserve hearing function during the early-onset of sensorineural hearing loss.Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by the loss of sensory cells or neurons in the cochlea, the sensory organ of the inner ear responsible for hearing. The condition can have genetic causes, often arising during infancy and childhood, hindering cognitive development and leading to speech and language problems."One of the challenges in tackling this condition is that the regenerative ability of the human cochlea is severely limited", said lead author Dr. Sharon Oleskevich from the Hearing Research Group at The University of New South Wales. "It has been proposed that the transplantation of cells from other parts of the body could treat, prevent or even reverse hearing loss. The transplanted cells have the potential to repair tissue by replacing damaged cells and enhancing the survival of existing cells, preventing the condition from developing further."To investigate the effects of this treatment, nasal stem cells were injected into the cochlea of mice displaying symptoms of hearing loss. Mice were chosen for this treatment as they display a similar decline in hearing function following infancy."The authors have used an interesting type of adult stem cell, related to mesenchymal stem cells, to reduce the extent of hearing loss. Since the cells did not integrate into the cochlea, it is likely that the effects from the adult stem cells were due to the release of factors to preserve function of the endogenous stem cells. Mesenchymal stem cells are known to provide factors to keep many types of cells healthy and functioning," said Jan Nolta, Associate Editor of STEM CELLS.Patient hearing levels were examined using the auditory brainstem response assay, which determines the lowest sound level to which the brain responds, known as the hearing threshold.The mice which received the transplanted cells were compared to mice who had not received the treatment a month later, revealing that the hearing threshold level in stem cell-transplanted mice was significantly lower."The results demonstrate a significant effect of nasal stem cell transplantations for sensorineural hearing loss," concluded Oleskevich. "These cells can be obtained easily from the nasal cavity making this transplantation a potential treatment for other human conditions including Parkinson's disease and cardiac infarction." http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-02/w-hwy020911.php (external link, opens new browser window)

Some more literature on delivery vehicle of healing agent

See :

http://preview.jnanobiotechnology.com/content/pdf/1477-3155-8-32.pdf

So when I am doing nothing to contribute to the hearing cause, scientists are working hard. I am really hit myself on the head.

Bravo scientists, keep up the good work in 2011!