Deafness News and Research

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SCF founder Sabrina Cohen recognized as a WebMD 2009 Health Hero

Sabrina Cohen, founder of The Sabrina Cohen Foundation for Stem Cell Research (SCF), was just recognized as a WebMD 2009 Health Hero. She will receive national media attention with a full-page article about her personal story of triumph and courage, and shares the spotlight with celebrity movie-star, Scarlett Johansson and other Health Heroes in the November/December issue.

20 Nov 2009

Video to improve patient-doctor communication

Amid growing concerns about racial, ethnic and language disparities in health care, The Joint Commission and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights have released a video, entitled “Improving Patient-Provider Communication,” which supports language access in health care organizations.

12 Nov 2009

Experts team up to measure the hearing of people with AIDS

Specialists in HIV and in hearing at the University of Rochester Medical Center are teaming up to measure the hearing of people with AIDS.

4 Nov 2009

NCI funds new Center on Microenvironment and Metastasis to research on cancer

Adding potent research firepower and fresh physical perspectives to combat cancer, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has funded the new Center on the Microenvironment and Metastasis, which will be headquartered at Cornell University.

27 Oct 2009

NIH grants to develop screening tool for autistic disorder

A Florida State University College of Medicine researcher has been awarded two separate grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) totaling $2.4 million to continue her work in detecting autism in children as young as 18 months.

19 Oct 2009

Sonitus Medical’s SoundBite hearing system ranks first on Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2010

Sonitus Medical, Inc., a medical device company developing the world's first non-surgical and removable hearing device to transmit sound via the teeth, today announced that technology it developed was ranked #1 on Cleveland Clinic's Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2010.

13 Oct 2009

The Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2010 announced at Cleveland Clinic Medical Innovation Summit

Cleveland Clinic's Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2010 list features a wide range of new techniques and therapies that are being developed to treat everything from deafness and Parkinson's disease to pneumonia and sleep disorders.

7 Oct 2009

NIH awards $2 million grant to fight Neurofibromatosis type 2 disease

University of Central Florida Associate Professor Cristina Fernandez-Valle just landed two federal grants worth $2 million to research a disease that can leave children and young adults deaf, partially paralyzed or brain damaged.

6 Oct 2009

NIDCD awards research grant to Mobius Therapeutics

Mobius Therapeutics, LLC ™ has been awarded a research grant from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) to study its investigational procedure, selective Photodynamic Myringotomy (PDM).

25 Sep 2009

$1.2 million grant to study centrosomes and cilia and their connections to human disease

If you don't know how a human cell is supposed to work, it's hard to offer a good explanation when the cell goes haywire -- as it does in cancer. That's why a Florida State University College of Medicine researcher has been awarded a $1.2 million grant to explore the role of centrosomes and cilia in cell division and development and their connections to human disease.

22 Sep 2009

NIH to fund grants for epigenetic research

The National Institutes of Health announced today that it will fund 22 grants on genome-wide studies of how epigenetic changes -- chemical modifications to genes that result from diet, aging, stress, or environmental exposures -- define and contribute to specific human diseases and biological processes.

17 Sep 2009

Genetic cause of progressive hearing loss discovered

A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has discovered a genetic cause of progressive hearing loss. The findings will help scientists better understand the nature of age-related decline in hearing and may lead to new therapies to prevent or treat the condition.

4 Sep 2009

Two-photon microscopy technique tracks calcium levels in mice neurons

For over a century, scientists have been using electrical stimulation to explore and treat the human brain. The technique has helped identify regions responsible for specific neural functions-for instance, the motor cortex and pleasure center-and has been used to treat a variety of conditions from Parkinson's disease to depression.

27 Aug 2009

Hiberix receives accelerated approval from FDA to overcome nationwide shortage

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Hiberix, a Haemophilus influenzae Type b (Hib) vaccine, as a booster dose for children 15 months through 4 years old. Hiberix is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, with U.S. headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C. and Philadelphia.

26 Aug 2009

Gene discovery unveils a new protein that protects against hearing loss

Discovery of a deafness-causing gene defect in mice has helped identify a new protein that protects sensory cells in the ear, according to a study by University of Iowa and Kansas State University researchers. The findings appear in the August 21 issue of the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

24 Aug 2009

Oticon Medical to globally market the FDA approved Ponto bone anchored hearing system

Oticon Medical, a global medical device company within the William Demant Group, announced today that it has obtained 501(k) clearance from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market the innovative Ponto bone anchored hearing system.

20 Aug 2009

The Gambia introduces pneumococcal immunisation programme

The Gambia, Minister of Health Dr. Mariatou Jallow administered the first dose of the pneumococcal vaccine to Gambian children at a rural clinic outside Banjul today. Joined by the Gambia’s Vice President, Mrs. Isatou Njie-Saidy, Dr. Jallow and hundreds of Gambian citizens celebrated this historic event, which marks the first step in the rollout of the Gambia’s national pneumococcal immunisation programme.

19 Aug 2009

Brain's motor and perception regions disconnected in tone-deaf people

Nerve fibers that link perception and motor regions of the brain are disconnected in tone-deaf people, according to new research in the August 19 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. Experts estimate that at least 10 percent of the population may be tone deaf - unable to sing in tune. The new finding identifies a particular brain circuit that appears to be absent in these individuals.

19 Aug 2009

New understanding on meningitis cause

A specific protein on the surface of a common bacterial pathogen allows the bacteria to leave the bloodstream and enter the brain, initiating the deadly infection known as meningitis. The new finding, which may guide development of improved vaccines to protect those most vulnerable, including young infants and the elderly, is now available online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

19 Aug 2009

Repeated stress signals made in cells with metabolism-associated disease encourage the growth of invading bacteria

Mitochondrial diseases disrupt the power generating machinery within cells and increase a person's susceptibility to bacterial infection, particularly in the lungs or respiratory tract.

28 Jul 2009