Posted on 09/17/2024 7:26:25 AM PDT by Red Badger
r. Daniel Sun’s research at the University of Cincinnati focuses on using magnetic nanoparticles to deliver drugs directly to the inner ear, aiming to provide a groundbreaking, minimally invasive treatment for hearing loss. (Daniel Sun, MD.) Credit: UC Health
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NIH-funded research explores magnetic nanoparticles for noninvasive, targeted treatment of hearing loss.
For medications to be effective, they require an efficient delivery system to reach the specific areas of the body where they can make an impact. Unfortunately, creating such a system has been a significant challenge for hearing loss treatments.
Now, Dr. Daniel Sun from the University of Cincinnati has been awarded over $1 million by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to research the potential of using magnetic nanoparticles as a delivery system for drugs to reach the inner ear and treat hearing loss.
Challenges in Treating Hearing Loss
Currently, steroids are the only drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat hearing loss, and these are often ineffective. Additionally, getting the medications into the inner ear, where hearing loss occurs, is a major hurdle.
“There are a lot of interesting medications that are in the pipeline that have a lot of potential to transform the way we treat hearing loss and allow us to delay or even reverse hearing loss,” said Sun, the Myles L. Pensak, MD, Endowed Professor in Neurotology and Skull Base Surgery, director of the Division of Neurotology, neurotology fellowship program director and associate professor of otolaryngology in the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and a UC Health physician. “But we don’t have a good way to get these promising medications into the ear very effectively.”
The Role of Magnetic Nanoparticles in Hearing Treatment
Magnetic nanoparticles have been used as a drug delivery system in other parts of the body, but Sun said his research is helping develop a better understanding of exactly how to engineer the nanoparticles specifically for the ear’s anatomy.
“The goal is to create something that’s minimally invasive and then use a magnetic field to steer these nanoparticles into the ear where hearing loss is happening,” Sun said.
Different kinds of hearing loss, like age-related hearing loss, noise trauma and sudden hearing loss, are caused by different mechanisms and therefore treated by different medications. If magnetic nanoparticles are effective, they could act as the delivery truck that gets loaded up with the specific medication each patient needs based on their kind of hearing loss.
“Based on the way they’re engineered, these particles can carry many different forms of medications,” Sun said. “It’s essential that we can use a common platform for different medications that can target different types of hearing loss.”
Advanced Techniques and Long-Term Goals
In addition to the magnetic field research, Sun and Donglu Shi, PhD, from UC’s Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, are collaborating to study the effectiveness of lasers to activate the nanoparticles and help them penetrate the inner ear.
“We want to approach it very systematically and rigorously to truly understand how to design these nanoparticles in a way that is biocompatible, that is safe for hearing and balance function in the ear,” Sun said. “At the same time, we want to provide very robust drug delivery capabilities. We’re really starting from the ground up to understand how these particles really penetrate the membrane that separates our middle ear from the inner ear and how these particles actually go to the areas of the inner ear that we need them to go to.”
Long term, Sun said a breakthrough in drug delivery combined with the new medications being developed could open a new world for noninvasive treatment of hearing loss. “We really want to look to a future where people, regardless of age or their health, can safely undergo these treatments with these promising medications in a way that is minimally invasive and also effective in treating their hearing loss,” he said.
Sun was initially awarded this grant while at Johns Hopkins University and transferred the grant when he joined the faculty at UC.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW???????...............
Ring!.....................
How are they going to REPLACE THE EAR HAIRS THAT STEROIDS DESTROYED IN 2 MENIERE’S ATTACKS? ONCE DESTROYED THEY CAN’T REGROW. I have little hearing in the flatline that requires super strong hearing aids. $5,800 they pair with my phone so I can hear a call IF the voice is clear. Recorded is a not understandable. A third attck is possible. So no hearing will be left.
I hear too much (tinnitus). Constant ringing. I could use a little peace and quiet. Maybe they will do something about that.
There was an article about a month ago about injections of T-cells into the Cochlea to regrow the tiny hairs.
From BRAVE AI:
Cochlear T-Cell Hair Regrowth
Injections of T-cells into the cochlea to regrow tiny hairs, also known as hair cells, are still an experimental approach and not a widely established treatment for hearing loss. The mammalian cochlea, including humans, has limited regenerative potential, and adult hair cells do not regenerate after damage.
Notable Research
Some studies have explored the use of stem cells or progenitor cells to regenerate hair cells. For example, Frequency Therapeutics, a MIT spinout, is developing a small molecule-based regenerative therapy that targets progenitor cells to create hair cells of the inner ear and reverse hearing loss. This approach involves injecting small molecules into the ear to stimulate the growth of hair cells.
Challenges and Limitations
Intratympanic injections, which deliver compounds directly into the middle ear, have a risk of low yield and may not effectively reach the cochlea. Intracochlear injections carry risks of infection and increased cochlear trauma. Systemic (IV) delivery has systemic side effects. The optimal route of delivery from a therapeutic perspective is still unknown.
Clinical Trials and Future Directions
While there are ongoing clinical trials modulating the Wnt and/or Notch pathways with novel compounds, the search results do not specifically mention T-cell injections into the cochlea for hair cell regeneration. Future research may focus on refining delivery methods and optimizing treatment protocols to effectively stimulate hair cell regeneration.
Patient Involvement
Patients with hearing loss and tinnitus are eager to participate in clinical trials and potential future studies on hair cell regeneration. However, it is essential to note that the current understanding of T-cell injections into the cochlea for hair cell regeneration is still in its experimental stages, and no established treatments or clinical trials exist for this specific approach.
Conclusion
Injections of T-cells into the cochlea to regrow tiny hairs are an area of ongoing research, but not a widely established treatment for hearing loss. While some studies explore stem cell-based approaches, the optimal route of delivery and treatment protocols remain uncertain. Patients with hearing loss and tinnitus should be aware of ongoing and future clinical trials, but it is crucial to prioritize evidence-based treatments and avoid unproven or experimental approaches.
Ltr.
Eh?
It’s not “hearing too much”. Tinnitus is nerve damage. Yes, that’s part of what any treatment for hearing loss would need to address.
There is a hearing aid that addresses tinnitus.
Have a link? Do you know anybody that has used it successfully? How expensive?
Frequency Therapeutics was acquired by Regeneron, a much bigger biotech firm. I hope that this means the Frequency drug will have the proper investment.
Sorry, my only knowledge of the tinnitus hearing aids came from my audiologist who told me that she wears them. I just know that they exist because of her remarks.
Thanks, if you ever talk to her again, I would be interested.
This looks like it would be way beyond the price an insurance company would cover.
I just glanced at this page, but perhaps you can get some information here.
https://www.ata.org/about-tinnitus/therapy-and-treatment-options/hearing-aids-masking-devices/
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Most of the time, I am able to ignore my tinnitus. But, once someone starts talking about the problem, I am acutely aware of those pesky insect sounds.
With age, my tinnitus changed from ringing to white noise.
Now and then one ear will suddenly ring fr a short while, but all else is just rushing sound of noise.
Have had that over 30 years.
Interesting, not affordable.
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