Hopes for stem cell deafness cure.Summary: Scientists have taken the first step towards curing deafness with stem cells stem cells, unspecialized human or animal cells that can produce mature specialized body cells and at the same time replicate themselves. Embryonic stem cells are derived from a blastocyst (the blastula typical of placental mammals; see embryo), which is very young grown in the laboratory. Scientists have taken the first step towards curing deafness with stem cells grown in the laboratory. A British-led team has made early versions of the sensory hair cells Hair cells Sensory receptors in the inner ear that transform sound vibrations into messages that travel to the brain. Mentioned in: Cochlear Implants and neurons essential for hearing from stem cells taken from the human inner ear. Scientists hope further work will lead to fully functional cells that could be used to treat total hearing loss within a decade. Stem cells used in the research were isolated from the developing cochleas of discarded human foetuses aged nine to 11 weeks. The research, reported in the journal Stem Cells, was funded by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID RNID Royal National Institute for the Deaf (and Hard of Hearing People; UK) RNID Request Node Identification RNID Return Node Identification ) and the charity Deafness Research UK. Dr Ralph Holme, director of biomedical research Biomedical research (or experimental medicine), in general simply known as medical research, is the basic research or applied research conducted to aid the body of knowledge in the field of medicine. at RNID, said: "Stem cell therapy stem cell therapy Cell therapy Molecular medicine A technology in which a person's own cells–eg, neuronal stem cells are triggered to revert to their primitive embryonic form, then redifferentiate into mature cells of various organs for hearing loss is still some years away but this research is incredibly promising and opens up exciting possibilities by bringing us closer to restoring hearing in the future." Vivienne Michael, chief executive of Deafness Research UK, said: "This study highlights the importance of stem cell stem cell In living organisms, an undifferentiated cell that can produce other cells that eventually make up specialized tissues and organs. There are two major types of stem cells, embryonic and adult. research. "In addition to the future potential for restoring hearing with stem cell therapy, the recent research success means that we may now have better ways to test the efficacy and toxicity of new drugs on auditory cells." Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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