New Active Substance Shows Promise in Treating Acute Sudden Hearing Loss

The AHA! Team — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 19:33:18 +0000

Medical University of Vienna via News-Medical – A research team led by MedUni Vienna has investigated AC102, a new active substance that offers hope of an effective treatment for acute sudden hearing loss. The latest results have been published in the scientific journal “Cell Death & Disease”. Initial findings from preclinical trials could represent a significant advancement in the treatment of acute hearing disorders. The effectiveness of AC102 was demonstrated in a study led by Christoph Arnoldner (Department of Otorhinolaryngology at MedUni Vienna) and Hans Rommelspacher (Audio Cure Pharma GmbH, Berlin) using animal models with cochlear implants. Cochlear implantation is currently the only treatment option for advanced hearing loss in order to partially restore the hearing ability. The preservation of residual hearing is of crucial importance, as the remaining “natural” hearing in combination with the electrical stimulation of the implant improves speech comprehension and general hearing perception. However, the surgical procedure can damage the inner ear and lead to the loss of residual hearing. Until now, there has been no effective method to prevent or treat this loss. “In our study, we have now been able to show that the residual hearing of animals that were administered AC102 once increasingly recovered in contrast to untreated animals,” reports first author Michael Nieratschker (Department of Otorhinolaryngology at MedUni Vienna). With the help of cell cultures and inner ear models, the study also found an explanation for this effect: AC102 has an anti-inflammatory effect and thus protects the hair cells and auditory nerves from dying. Treatment of sudden hearing loss in sight The results of the study allow the conclusion that AC102 could also be effective in acute sudden hearing loss. “Sudden hearing loss is usually treated with cortisone, but recent studies show that this approach often does not work.” -Christoph Arnoldner, Head of the CD Laboratory for Inner Ear Research at MedUni Vienna “Since inflammatory processes and cell damage also play a role in acute sudden hearing loss, as in the case of residual hearing loss in cochlear implantation, the use of AC102 was also investigated in this context,” explains Michael Nieratschker. The efficacy of the substance has already been demonstrated in a preclinical study (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2314763121) involving MedUni Vienna. A Phase I study to confirm the safe use of AC102 at MedUni Vienna and Radboud University in Nijmegen (Netherlands) has also already been successfully completed. The Phase II study to confirm efficacy in patients is being conducted at several European centers, including MedUni Vienna’s Department of Otorhinolaryngology. “All the results so far give us reason to hope that AC102 could be suitable for the treatment of acute sudden hearing loss,” say Christoph Arnoldner and Michael Nieratschker optimistically. Source: Medical University of Vienna Journal reference: Nieratschker, M., et al. (2024). A preoperative dose of the pyridoindole AC102 improves the recovery of residual hearing in a gerbil animal model of cochlear implantation. Cell Death and Disease. doi.org/10.1038/s41419-024-06854-9. To read the original article click here.

The post New Active Substance Shows Promise in Treating Acute Sudden Hearing Loss appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

Israeli Tissue Engineers 3D-Print An Ear

AHA Publisher — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 08:50:16 +0000

Brian Blum via Israel21c – A small percentage (0.1% to 0.3%) of babies are born with congenitally deformed ears. This can have a severe psychological impact, and sometimes involves hearing loss. While surgeons can reconstruct a proper ear using cartilage harvested from the patient’s chest, the procedure is not usually performed until at least 10 years of age. Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Sheba Medical Center have developed a way to 3D-print “scaffolding” as the basis for a replacement ear. The scaffold, which allows for the formation of an aesthetic and stable auricle (the visible part of the external ear), is designed from a CT scan of the patient’s ear and can be performed on children as young as six years old. The biodegradable scaffold forms chondrocytes, the cells responsible for cartilage formation, and mesenchymal stem cells. Pores of varying sizes allow for cell attachment to form stable cartilage. The procedure has so far been tested on lab rats. The researchers monitored cartilage formation within the auricle construct in the lab for between 10 days and six weeks before implanting it in the test subjects. The grafted prosthetic ear demonstrated good biomechanical function, the researchers reported in the journal Biofabrication. The project was led by Prof. Shulamit Levenberg of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion and Dr. Shay Izhak Duvdevani, a senior physician in the Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Department and head of the Tissue Engineering Lab at Sheba Medical Center. The protocols were developed in Levenberg’s lab under Dr. Shira Landau. “One of the challenges in the study was to find a suitable 3D-printing method, since fabricating an ear necessitates the use of biodegradable materials that break down in the body without harming it but have an extremely accurate external structure and small pores,” said Levenberg. “We estimate that it will be possible to tailor our technology to other applications, such as nasal reconstruction and fabrication of various orthopedic implants.” To read the original article click here.

The post Israeli Tissue Engineers 3D-Print An Ear appeared first on Amazing Health Advances.

ear Archives - Amazing Health Advances

New Active Substance Shows Promise in Treating Acute Sudden Hearing Loss

Israeli Tissue Engineers 3D-Print An Ear