CHILDREN WITH GENETIC DEAFNESS HAVE HEARING RESTORED WITH GENE THERAPY: STUDY
Photo Credit: Mass General Brigham
Children with hereditary deafness regained their hearing thanks to a type of gene therapy, a new study published on Wednesday found.
In a clinical trial, co-led by investigators from Mass Eye and Ear, a specialty hospital in Boston, six children who had a form of genetic deafness called DFNB9 were examined.
This deafness is caused by mutations of the OTOF gene. This mutation fails to produce a protein known as otoferlin, which is necessary for the transmission of sound signals from the ear to the brain, according to the researchers.
The trial -- which began in December 2022 -- took place at Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai and involved the use of an inactive virus carrying a functioning version of the OTOF gene.
