To date, hearing impairment can only be treated with medical devices such as hearing aids or cochlear implants. Gene therapy could offer an alternative in certain cases in the future. Building on pioneering work by researchers at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), children suffering from a hearing impairment due to defects in the OTOF gene have been treated by gene therapy for the first time. In this disease, the hair cells in the inner ear can no longer transmit sound information at their synapses with the auditory nerve.
Prof. Dr. Tobias Moser, Director of the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience, University Medical Center Göttingen and spokesperson of the CRC 1690. Photo: mbexc/spförtner
