Can babies with congenital deafness ever be cured? In any case, this is the hope of American scientists who have just received authorization from the American Medicines Agency (FDA) to launch a phase 1 clinical trial to assess the possibility of a Umbilical stem cell transplant in infants aged 6 weeks to 18 months.
For a year, researchers at the School of Medicine in Houston, Texas, will test the safety of a treatment that involves transplanting babies with stem cells from their own umbilical cords that can rebuild the structures of the baby. inner ear. About ten infants will participate in this cell therapy, which was initially tested successfully on mice.
“Children have only 18 months to acquire language skills and if they cannot hear they will not be able to speak normally.“Says Dr. James Baumgartner, a neurosurgeon at the University of Texas, who is leading the study.” This cell therapy could potentially restore normal hearing in these children.
What is congenital deafness?
Congenital deafness can be due to a viral infection caught during pregnancy (rubella, toxoplasmosis or cytomegalovirus). But most of the time this pathology is of genetic origin: this hereditary disease affects approximately 1 to 3 children in 1000.
