Title

Gene delivery to the inner ear: hair cell regeneration and cochlear implantation.

Authors

Staecker, H.

Abstract

The last several years have seen the first human trials of inner ear gene therapy and cell therapy launching a range of therapeutic interventions that we will need to incorporate into cochlear implant practice. We will review the rationale for generating human auditory hair cells and the implications of molecular therapeutics for cochlear implantation. We will discuss how to choose patients for high-risk clinical trials, review the clinical safety data from current trials and discuss means to optimize gene delivery into the inner ear. Challenges in moving therapy for forward include identifying the molecular and cellular causes of hearing loss, identifying optimal times for delivery of medications to the cochlea and most importantly managing the patient's expectations of outcomes. The next 10 years should show continued improvement and refinement of cochlear implant technology and the beginnings of hybrid device/molecular therapeutic interventions. Hearing preservation cochlear implantation in particular presents the opportunity to potentially improve low-frequency hearing, thereby improving EAS outcomes, as well as identifying patients with progressive ski slope hearing losses whose progressive hearing loss could be halted through gene therapy and their high-frequency hearing rehabilitated through electrical stimulation. These ideas will be further discussed in the subsequent panel.

Subjects

BELGIUM; CONFERENCES & conventions; COCHLEAR implants; GENES; HAIR cells; INNER ear

Publication

Journal of Hearing Science, 2018, Vol 8, Issue 2, p58

ISSN

2083-389X

Publication type

Academic Journal