io9 - A Drug That Restores Hearing In Deaf Mice

A drug that restores hearing in Deaf mice.



Advances in regenerative medicine are coming in fast and furious these days, and a remarkable new breakthrough can be added to the list. Scientists at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School have restored partial hearing in mice suffering from sensorineural hearing loss a condition that happens after prolonged exposure to noise.



Given the rise of an aging population not to mention a preponderance of people who blast their ears with portable MP3 players it's an important bit of scientific insight that could someday help millions of people get their hearing back.



To learn more about this important breakthrough, we contacted lead researcher Dr. Albert Edge, whose study appears in the January 10 issue of Neuron.



Edge agreed that sensorineural hearing loss is a growing concern.



"The National Institute of Deafness and Communications Disorders of the NIH estimates that approximately 15 percent of Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 have hearing loss due to exposure to loud sounds or noise at work or in leisure activities," he told io9. "So this is a very serious problem with little that can be done to treat it."



No doubt, it's a problem that currently affects 250 million people worldwide.



Edge says that hearing aids can help, but his team is hoping to develop a treatment that goes all the way one that can actually replace the lost cells.... Read more: http://io9.com/5974633/a-drug-that-restores-hearing-in-deaf-mice



Related: Deaf Gerbils 'Hear Again' After Stem Cell Cure

Deaf Culture and Community Will Likely Disappear

Prediction 30 years from now, Deaf culture and community will disappear! As seen on article: Deaf Gerbils 'Hear Again' After Stem Cell Cure



BSL Zone: The End

A drama envisaging a terminal decline of Deaf culture.

We are therefore currently only showing this film with subtitles.

Here's the linked to watch video: http://www.bslzone.co.uk/bsl-zone/zoom-focus-the-end/



Whether you are hearing or Deaf, it is recommended to watch this film with subtitles. There is spoken content which Deaf people will struggle to understand without subtitles, and there is British Sign Language which many hearing people will not understand.



This film was written and made with Deaf and hearing people in mind, and the film-makers really wanted to make a crossover film from the perspective of Deaf people and Deaf culture.



Ted Evans (Writer/Director) and the team behind The End quite rightly want the film to be accessible for everyone - However watching the film without subtitles would prove to be very difficult.



We are therefore currently only showing this film with subtitles.

Here's the linked to watch video: http://www.bslzone.co.uk/bsl-zone/zoom-focus-the-end/



Sources: http://www.bslzone.co.uk/

Subscribe: BSLZoneOfficial

Marlee Matlin Fears For Deaf Stem-Cell Treatment

Marlee Matlin tweets concerns about a possible stem cell cure for deafness.



British researchers have been able to rebuild nerves in the ears of gerbils, and it is believed the same technique could one day be applicable to Deaf humans. However, Oscar-winning actress Matlin, who has been Deaf since she was 18 months old, is worried about the implications of the development. Matlin has been tweeting her mixed feelings about the recently announced “stem cell cure” for deafness.



Matlin commented that millions of Deaf Americans who communicate in sign language do not regard deafness as a "handicap" or a "'disease' to cure." She posted these comments on Twitter: “Imagine how I must feel with my children with me at the grocery store and someone says "I heard there's a cure for your deafness!" Think.”



"Deafness cure" is trending. My concern is that it's bigger than a "trend." It involves people and not as simple as the 4 letters in "cure." According to The Telegraph, some Deaf people feel that they don’t need to be fixed by medical intervention. The National Association of the Deaf says that many profoundly Deaf people who sign consider themselves to be part of a unique linguistic group through sign language and a unique Deaf culture.



Matlin's comments reflect the views of many members of the Deaf community...

Read more: http://www.examiner.com/article/marlee-matlin-tweets-concerns-about-a-possible-stem-cell-cure-for-deafness

Deaf Gerbils 'Hear Again' After Stem Cell Cure

Media Video: Deaf gerbils 'hear again' after stem cell cure.



Health and science reporter, BBC News



UK researchers say they have taken a huge step forward in treating deafness after stem cells were used to restore hearing in animals for the first time.



Hearing partially improved when nerves in the ear, which pass sounds into the brain, were rebuilt in gerbils - a UK study in the journal Nature reports.



Getting the same improvement in people would be a shift from being unable to hear traffic to hearing a conversation.

Video by Beanyman62News



However, treating humans is still a distant prospect. Fergus Walsh reports.



However, in about one in 10 people with profound hearing loss, nerve cells which should pick up the signal are damaged. It is like dropping the baton after the first leg of a relay race...Read more http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19570024.



Watch BBC video http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19580117

Deaf Babies Need Your HELP Stop FDA & Stem Cells

Video: Deaf babies need your help stop FDA and Stem Cells in American Sign Language.



Deaf Babies need your help with this online petition:

http://signon.org/sign/stop-stem-cells-experiment.fb1?source=s.fb&r_by=1970141

Video by PopeMistress



Congrats AFA in world public news released on January 16, 2012:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9108761.htm



AFA blog: http://audismfreeamerica.blogspot.com/2012/01/afa-denounces-fdas-approval-of-newborn.html



Thank you for signing on petition for Deaf Babies.



We:

1. Deaf community

2. FDA

3. Doctors

4. Audism

5. Pimp of Prostitute rings

5. Stem Cells

6. Teachers

7. Parents with wrong choice

8. Gov't

9. Church

10. Etc...



We don't own Deaf babies but we owe Deaf babies BIG time for many many many years.



Deaf babies need our help. Thank you for signing petition online.