To give some technical info, auditory cells are located in cochlea in the inner ear, and translate auditory wave disturbances into nerve signals , sending them to the brain to be interpreted. And they are pretty fragile, and their destruction due to loud noise, or maybe some toxins, cancer, is irreparable, causing the most common form of hearing loss- the sensorineural hearing loss, untill now, with researchers at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School have found a drug which has the ability to stimulate the regeneration of these hair cells, from stem cells.
The drug inhibits a protein called "Notch", which stimulates the stem cells to form new hair cells, causing partial hearing recovery, as done in mice. The researchers are excited to have made it possible for the first time in adults, paving way for better treatment for permanent deafness in the future
Their article has been published in Neuron . Watch the video for more information.
Source: Massachusetts Eye and Ear
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