Ear Implant Uses Electrical Impulses to Regrow Auditory Nerves
24th April 2014
In the study, published today in Science Translational Medicine, researchers used an antibiotic treatment to deafen adult guinea pigs. Then, they introduced recombinant DNA — DNA formed in a lab by combining genetic material from various sources — into the cochlea, the portion of the guinea pigs’ ear that transforms vibrations into sound signals. Once the DNA was in place, they implanted the ear with a modified cochlear implant that was able to send short, directed electrical impulses to the surrounding cells, in addition to enhancing the animals’ hearing. These impulses are part of a gene therapy technique called “electroporation” that allowed the recombinant DNA to enter the cochlear cells and produce neurotrophins, proteins that cause auditory nerve endings to regenerate.