Stem cells bring hope to millions of people suffering from hearing loss

Few people know, but the main character of the series “Stranger Things” Millie Bobby Brown is deaf in one ear. She was born with partial hearing loss, which eventually turned into complete deafness. Jodie Foster wears hearing aids. And Eric Clapton admitted that prolonged exposure to loud noise at concerts caused him to develop ringing in the ears (a condition known as tinnitus) and permanent hearing loss.

According to WHO, more than a billion people worldwide experience hearing problems. For 430 million of them, the condition resulted in disability. People with hearing loss often have communication problems and are less likely to get hired than non-disabled applicants. They have twice the risk of mental health problems, including depression, and are 5 times more likely to suffer from dementia. That is why the search for new effective methods for treating hearing loss is one of the most pressing problems of modern medicine.

Main causes of hearing loss

Hearing impairment is the most common type of sensory deficit in humans. Most often, it is caused by the irreversible death of cells in the cochlea, the anterior part of the membranous labyrinth. Our ability to hear depends entirely on the state of the auditory receptors – sensory hair cells and associated neurons located in the cochlea.

Mechanical signals (acoustic waves) are converted into electrical signals (action potentials) in the organ of Corti. The movement of the fluid that fills the cochlea activates the hair cells. They release chemicals (neurotransmitters) that stimulate the auditory nerve, which transmits information to the brain for processing.

The inner ear is a very sensitive organ and is therefore at high risk of injury. The most common causes of hearing loss are genetic factors, noise trauma, ototoxic medications, infections, and age-related degeneration (aging). Damaged neurosensory cells are not restored. This results in chronic hearing loss, a devastating condition that is widespread in infancy and adulthood and has widespread consequences for the individual and society as a whole.

Only every fifth patient with hearing impairment is a candidate for hearing aids and cochlear implants. These devices help amplify sound, but do not improve language understanding, which is impaired due to damage to sensorineural cells. The lack of effective treatments has prompted the search for new, more effective approaches. A real breakthrough in this area is the use of fetal stem cells.

Stem cells – an innovative method for treating hearing loss

EmCellFetal Stem Cell Laboratory and Clinic in Kyiv offers advanced patented fetal stem cell treatments for a variety of diseases and conditions. The clinic’s specialists are engaged in continuous development in the field of cell therapy. One of their latest achievements was a unique stem cell treatment protocol for patients with hearing problems.

Fetal stem cell therapy:

• restores the damaged vascular network of the inner ear;
• stimulates perfusion of hypoxic tissue;
• increases the viability of cochlea and auditory nerve cells;
• inhibits (suppresses) the death of neurosensory cells.

This complex action helps reduce inflammation and tissue fibrosis, slows down, and sometimes completely stops the progressive deterioration of hearing.

What are fetal stem cells?

Fetal stem cells are precursor cells that have the ability to transform into other types of cells in the body. They are safe and have a high proliferative capacity (the ability to divide).

Modern regenerative medicine also involves the use of adult stem cells (allogeneic or autologous). They are obtained from the body of an adult – from bone marrow, adipose tissue, dental pulp, hair follicles, skin.

Compared to adults, fetal cells have several advantages. They have not yet had time to accumulate mutations in genes, and also do not cause rejection by the body, since they are immunologically immature. Fetal cells can be used with minimal processing, while adult stem cells need to be cultured for a long time. This leads to disruption of genome repair and accumulation of mutations, which limit the effectiveness of cell therapy and increase the risk of carcinogenesis (cancer development).

EmCell clinic specialists successfully use fetal stem cells to treat many diseases, including hearing impairment of various etiologies.

Is fetal stem cell treatment for hearing loss safe?

The EmCell Clinic has a modern cryogenic storage facility, which stores more than 20 thousand high-quality proliferative drugs made from fetal stem cells. They are produced using a patented programmable “suspension” method, classified by type. This allows the use of different sets of stem cells for personalized treatment of patients.

Each cell preparation is checked twice for microbiological sterility – the first time when processing the biomaterial, and the second time at the stage of final preparation. To control sterility, EmCell specialists use the FDA-approved automatic colorimetric system BacT/ALERT 3D 120 (bioMérieux, France). The safety and effectiveness of fetal stem cell-based products is the laboratory’s top priority.

Cell therapy is a real opportunity to restore hearing

The number of people with hearing loss is staggering. It is comparable to the global incidence of diabetes and osteoarthritis. However, until now there has been no treatment to restore hearing or prevent hearing loss. The MedTour company, in collaboration with the EmCell clinic, offers a unique solution to this complex problem. Our mission is to realize the potential of cell therapies to treat hearing loss for millions of patients around the world.

To learn more about innovative treatment, fill out the feedback form or call the numbers listed on the website. The MedTour coordinator will provide you with all the necessary information and help organize treatment.