 New Ear Hair Cells Developed To Treat Hearing
The ear is the sensory organ for hearing. The auditory portion of the inner ear converts sound waves into electrical impulses that are sent to brain. The loss of these cells due to infections, aging, genetic diseases, loud noise etc could lead to hearing impairment or nerve deafness. At birth, humans have about 30,000 hair cells and once they are damaged, they could be repaired. According to the recent studies, it has been found that it could be corrected by implanting gene called Atoh 1 into the inner ear, which would transform non sensory cells to hair cells. The cells so produced are functional. Hence, gene therapy would be next step towards treating hearing impairment. | 
10-04-09, 07:03 PM
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