Scientists restore deafness in mice through gene-therapy

The evolving technology of gene therapy has led to many breakthroughs in the field of science. New research has shown that gene therapy can now also cure inborn deafness.

According to a new research, gene therapy can now be used to cure and restore congenital deafness, as the results were positive in deaf mice that developed the ability to hear almost as well as healthy mice.

The mice suffered from DFNB9 deafness, a hearing disorder which accounts for between 2% and 8% of gene-related cases of human deafness. In this particular type of deafness, a protein named ‘otoferlin’ is unable to perform is task of submitting sound information gather by the fine hairs in the inner ear, explained Futurism.

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As described in the study published in the journal PNAS, after altering the deaf mice’s genomes with specially-crafted viruses by only a single intracochlear injection, the animals were able to hear almost as clearly as mice born with working otoferlin since their DNA segments were recombined, reported the team.

Even after altering the same specific gene in mice as what causes the DFNB9 deafness in humans, it still too early to claim that gene-editing technology can treat people as good as it did with the animals.