Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Regrowing auditory nerves

Australian researchers say they've figured out a way for Gene therapy to make cochlear implants work better. Sending a series of short electric bursts to cells could cause auditory nerve endings to regenerate. If they are right, implant users to get more "pitch" out of their devices. The gene therapy technique called "electroporation." The team says it successfully tested its technique on deaf guinea pigs. Human trails will have to wait until they figure out how to make the effect last longer than just a few months. Read the details of the study in the latest edition of the journal Science Translational Medicine here.