Lecture "Pharmacy Tuesdays" - A. Zine

Cell therapy in the inner ear: new developments and prospects

Summary: Hearing loss can occur as a result of aging, exposure to loud noise, ototoxic drugs and certain illnesses such as diabetes. According to the WHO, 15% of the world's population suffer from hearing loss, and the trend is rising. Over 90% of hearing loss is due to destruction of the hair cells (the sensory cells in the inner ear responsible for hearing) or the auditory nerve. At present, the treatment of these hearing deficits is still a challenge, since the solutions offered to patients are designed to relieve the symptoms of these disorders (hearing aids), but in no way to restore hearing. Our team has been working for around ten years on an innovative solution involving the development of biotherapies for sensorineural hearing loss. We recently provided proof of concept for cell therapy, with the first trials of grafts in the cochlea of an animal model of deafness. I will conclude this presentation by outlining the critical biotechnological challenges that still need to be overcome before we can implement cell therapy to treat hearing loss in humans.