The children in the study were unable to hear from birth because of genetic mutations affecting a protein needed to pass auditory signals to the brain.The children in the study were unable to hear from birth because of genetic mutations affecting a protein needed to pass auditory signals to the brain.Five children who were born deaf now have hearing in both ears after taking part in an “astounding” gene therapy trial that raises hopes for further treatments.
Within weeks of receiving the therapy, the children had gained hearing, could locate the sources of sounds, and recognised speech in noisy environments. Two of the children were recorded dancing to music, the researchers reported inDr Zheng-Yi Chen, a scientist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a Harvard teaching hospital in Boston that co-led the trial, said the results were “astounding”, adding that researchers continued to see the children’s hearing ability “dramatically progress”.
The oldest patient, an 11-year-old girl, showed no response to tones played at various pitches before the therapy, but reacted to all of them six weeks later and was able to take part in speech training from the 13-week mark.
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