人工耳蜗植入,基因疗法 z-bo 2020-08-17 495

　　Australian researchers at the University of New South Wales School of Medicine in Australia are using a gene therapy called electrical gene delivery, which uses an electric field to restrict gene delivery to cochlear electrodes. This study provides evidence that gene therapy can enhance hearing in cochlear implants.

　　Using gene therapy to enhance the effect of cochlear implants, people with different degrees of hearing loss will perceive more complex sounds, such as distinguishing different instrument tones, such as the soft tones of triangle bells or pianos. There may be circumstances. Hearing loss usually occurs after the loss of cochlear hair cells. Cochlear hair cells are special cells of the inner ear. They help convert sound vibrations into electrical nerve impulses. This is the process of hearing sound. Since the 1970s, cochlear implants have been on the market, and hearing is partially restored by affecting the hair cells of the cochlear implant. However, the current cochlear implant cannot restore normal hearing, and its electrode design has basically not changed in the past few decades. In an experiment with a completely deaf guinea pig, Jeremy Pinion and colleagues demonstrated that gene therapy can improve the performance of cochlear implants by stimulating the regeneration of cochlear neurons, which can Transform various frequencies into the perception of sound. I pointed it out. The researchers used a gene therapy called electrical gene delivery, which uses electric fields to limit gene delivery near the cochlear electrodes (this is related to the way viruses deliver genes. It can lead to popular expression of certain genes being delivered. Pinyon et al. Humans inject DNA solution containing brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene into the cochlear implant of guinea pigs, and use an electrode array to deliver several short electrical pulses to the cochlear implant. Within a few hours, the cochlear cells received the DNA and Started to express neurotrophin, a protein that helps nerve cells develop. The team tested the hearing of guinea pigs using the auditory brainstem response test or ABR; ABR is a common method used to detect hearing in newborns. Electrodes are placed on the head of the guinea pig At the top, it is used to detect the electricity generated by the cochlear nerve fibers in the brain, which is excited in response to sound. Researchers have found that the hearing of guinea pigs has been significantly improved, and the hearing of guinea pigs that have been completely deaf has returned to normal levels. These results provide We found evidence that gene therapy can enhance the hearing of cochlear implants. Then, the researchers plan to test the cochlear electrical gene delivery technology in clinical trials.