🧬 Gene Therapy Restores Hearing in Deaf Patients

A single injection of gene therapy has restored hearing in all 10 participants of a clinical trial, marking the first success across a range of ages, from toddlers to young adults. The study, published on Tuesday in Nature Medicine, shows that genetic deafness caused by a specific mutation can be quickly reversed with a single treatment.

Led by Sweden's Karolinska Institutet and five hospitals in China, the trial treated patients aged 1 to 24 with hearing loss linked to OTOF gene mutations. These mutations block the production of otoferlin, a key protein responsible for transmitting sound signals from the ear to the brain.

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