Existing Cochlear Technology Used To Re-grow Auditory Nerves

Image Caption: This shows regenerated auditory nerves after gene therapy (top) compared with no treatment (below). Credit: UNSW Translational Neuroscience Facility

[ Watch The Video: Bionic Ear Delivers DNA To Regrow Auditory Nerve Cells ]

University of New South Wales

Researchers at UNSW Australia have for the first time used electrical pulses delivered from a cochlear implant to deliver gene therapy, thereby successfully regrowing auditory nerves.

The research also heralds a possible new way of treating a range of neurological disorders, including Parkinsons disease, and psychiatric conditions such as depression through this novel way of delivering gene therapy.

The research is published today (Thursday 24 April) in the prestigious journal Science Translational Medicine.

People with cochlear implants do well with understanding speech, but their perception of pitch can be poor, so they often miss out on the joy of music, says UNSW Professor Gary Housley, who is the senior author of the research paper.

Ultimately, we hope that after further research, people who depend on cochlear implant devices will be able to enjoy a broader dynamic and tonal range of sound, which is particularly important for our sense of the auditory world around us and for music appreciation, says Professor Housley, who is also the Director of the Translational Neuroscience Facility at UNSW Medicine.

The research, which has the support of Cochlear Limited through an Australian Research Council Linkage Project grant, has been five years in development.

[ Watch The Video: Regenerated Auditory Nerves ]

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Existing Cochlear Technology Used To Re-grow Auditory Nerves