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Breakthrough research underway at Boys Town National Research Hospital, in
collaboration with Harvard University Medical Center and St. Jude
Children's Hospital, is bringing scientists closer than ever before to
understanding the complex mechanics of the inner ear.
The study, published in the September 19 issue of Nature, has linked the
motor protein named prestin with the functioning of the outer hair cells
of the cochlea. These cells play a critical role in the amplification of
sound.
According to David He, Ph.D., the principal investigator for this research
at Boys Town Hospital, "Our research proves that the absence of the gene
which expresses prestin in outer hair cells in laboratory models
significantly reduces the sensitivity of hearing," said Dr. He. "The
findings are critical not only to our understanding of hearing, but offer
promise because the most common forms of human hearing loss involve damage
to these hair cells."
Scientists have long believed that the ears of animals contain an
amplifier that increases sensitivity to sound levels. Only recently has
the connection been made between the outer ear cells and amplification.
Dramatic video produced in Dr. He's laboratory illustrates the reaction of
hair cells to sound.
Dr. He's research is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of
Health (NIH).
Boys Town National Research Hospital is internationally recognized for
research and treatment of hearing loss and other communication disorders.
It was among the first institutions to be designated as an NIH Research
and Training Center for Hearing Loss in Children in the U.S. |
