A novel gene therapy designed to target a form of inherited deafness restored hearing function in five children who were treated in both ears. The children also experienced better speech perception and gained the ability to localize and determine the position of sound. The study, the world's first clinical trial to administer a gene therapy to both ears (bilaterally), demonstrates additional benefits than what were observed in the first phase of this trial, published earlier this year, when children were treated in one ear.
The research was led by investigators from Mass Eye and Ear (a member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system) and Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, and findings were published June 5 th in Nature Medicine . The results from these studies are astounding. We continue to see the hearing ability of treated children dramatically progress and the new study shows added benefits of the gene therapy when administrated to both ears, including the ability for sound source localization and improvements in speech recognition in noisy environments.
" Zheng-Yi Chen, DPhil, study co-senior author, associate scientist in the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass Eye and Ear The researchers noted their team's goal was always to treat children in both ears to achieve the ability to hear sound in three dimensions, a capability important for communication and common daily tasks such as driving. "Restoring hearing in both ears of children who are born deaf .
