Stem Cells Could Restore Hearing: Study

A new study shows that stem cells could restore hearing.

The study was conducted by the Goethe-University (Frankfurt, Germany), Justus-Liebig University (Giessen, Germany), Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (Boston, MA) and colleagues.

According to the scientists, Spiral ganglion cells are essential for hearing. Loss of these cells is the most-common reason behind hearing problems.

Spiral ganglion cells can't regenerate. However, the current study shows that spiral ganglion stem cells in the inner ear are capable of self-renewal. The team conducted studies on mice models and found that the inner ear stem cells can be grown in a lab. These cells can be induced to differentiate into mature spiral ganglion cells, neurons and even glial cells.

According to the researchers, the study could pave the way for newer treatments for people suffering from hearing loss.

"These findings are particularly interesting as they show that spiral ganglion stem cells can be propagated in vitro," said BioResearch Open Access Editor Jane Taylor, PhD, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. "These cells are normally poorly regenerated in the mammalian ear."

The study, "Spiral Ganglion Stem Cells Can Be Propagated and Differentiated Into Neurons and Glia." It is published in the journal BioResearch Open Access.

Seventeen percent of all people in the U.S have some degree of irreversible hearing loss.

Researchers at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute are trying to restore hearing loss using stem cells. They have shown that stem cell-derived auditory neurons can re-establish broken nervous connection and restore hearing in animals.