For the first time, researchers were able to induce the formation of new hair cells in the ears of adult mammals.
Asnat Ravid-Amir
https://www.hayadan.org.il/earsnerve01.html
Hair cells are sensory cells located in the inner ear and convert sound waves into electrical pulses that are transmitted to the brain. Hair cells are essential for the hearing process. After the development of the fetus, the production of hair cells stops and damage to the stock with which they are born leads to deafness. Loud noise, pollution, certain medications and old age can damage the hair cells and lead to hearing loss. To date, they have not been able to induce the regeneration of hair cells in the ears of mammals.
In a study to be published in the Journal of Neuroscience in early June 2003, scientists from the University of Michigan succeeded in producing hair cells in the ears of adult voles. The treatment was carried out by inserting a gene, called Math1, into the epithelial cells in the inner ear of 14 voles. During embryonic development, cells expressing the Math1 gene develop into hair cells. After 30-60 days, the voles' ears were examined and hair cells were found developing in areas that normally do not contain hair cells. In the control group, which contained 12 voles, no hair cells were found. In addition, it was found that nerve fibers began to grow towards the new hair cells. Connecting the cells to nerve fibers is necessary to transmit signals from them to the brain.
Growing new hair cells is an important step towards developing a treatment to restore hearing, although there is still a long way to go before this kind of treatment can be implemented in humans.
Journal of Neuroscience
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