Israeli researchers report breakthrough gene therapy for hearing and balance disorders

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-researchers-report-breakthrough-gene-therapy-for-hearing-and-balance-disorders

 Israeli researchers report breakthrough gene therapy for hearing and balance disorders

Scientists from Tel Aviv University and Boston Children’s Hospital use an optimized virus to deliver a corrected gene into the patient’s cells, improving auditory and sensory loss

Researchers at Tel Aviv University say they have found an innovative gene therapy method to treat impairments in hearing and balance caused by inner ear dysfunction, providing hope for a cure to inherited deafness.

“This treatment holds promise for treating a wide range of mutations that cause hearing loss,” said lead scientist Prof. Karen Avraham, Dean of Tel Aviv’s Gray Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, speaking to The Times of Israel in a teleconference call recently alongside Roni Hahn, a PhD student.

The work was conducted in collaboration with Prof. Jeffrey Holt and Dr. Gwenaëlle Géléoc, both of Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, with support from the US-Israel Binational Science Foundation, the US National Institutes of Health, and the Israel Science Foundation Breakthrough Research Program.