Gene therapy enhances hearing implants

Nature : Although cochlear implants have proven to be successful in restoring some hearing to those who are profoundly deaf, the devices have their limitations, particularly in noisy environments. Now a team of researchers has been working to improve the devices’ performance by using gene therapy to stimulate nerve growth in the cells of the wearer’s inner ear. Jeremy Pinyon of the University of New South Wales in Australia and coworkers injected the inner-ear cells of deaf guinea pigs with a solution of DNA and then sent low-voltage electrical pulses through the cochlear-implant hardware. The technique stimulated the guinea pigs’ auditory nerves and thus improved their dynamic range and boosted the performance of the cochlear implants. Although the innovative approach shows promise, more work is needed before the method is ready for clinical applications.