14 DAY TRIAL // Our food is turning more and more artificial, the way our environment is and so does our body.
A team at Georgetown University Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has managed, for the first time, to develop a "bionic" ear that gave back hearing to a patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease.
The breakthrough gives new hope for individuals with the rare disorder, which can induce non-malignant tumors in ears, eyes, brain and kidneys, but also to many deaf people. This was possible because these tumors do not attack the cochlear (auditory) nerve, which is necessary for transmitting sounds to the brain.
The cochlear implant stimulates the cochlear nerve with electrical impulses.
"Based on our understanding of how these tumors affect the inner ear, we felt that a cochlear implant could work, and it did," said the lead author Dr. H. Jeffrey Kim, an assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery.
"Two years after the surgery, the implant has significantly improved the quality of life of the patient. Based on this successful surgery, patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease with hearing loss may be now be candidates for a cochlear implant," Kim said.
"The disease, caused by inheritance of a mutated tumor suppressor gene, occurs in 1 out of 36,000 live births, and about 30 % of these patients develop tumors in their ears--often in both. To date, the only option to help control these tumors is repeated surgery, which is often not successful. Loss of hearing is sudden, and hearing aids don't help", Kim added.
The tumors develop themselves in the endolymphatic sac, part of the inner ear labyrinth and even if they are benign, as they are invasive, they can induce hemorrhages that cause tinnitus, vertigo and hearing loss.
The researches made by Kim's team also solved many other ear issues, like M?ni?re's Disease, which impairs hearing and balance due to pressure also in the endolymphatic sacs.
"This is a much more common condition, so we hope that what we learn from von Hippel-Lindau disease may help in the treatment of hearing problems that affect many of us," concluded Kim.