Deafness News and Research

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Vaccines for measles-mumps-rubella and varicella are effective in extremely preterm infants

The study, which included 16 term and 16 extremely preterm (born before about 6 months of pregnancy) infants born between May 2002 and May 2005, is the first of its kind to examine the antibody levels of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella in this population before and after vaccination. It was published in this month's Pediatrics.

5 Mar 2007

Genetically caused deafness may be reversible by compensating for a missing protein

Emory University researchers have found that in mice, increasing the amount of the protein connexin26 in the ear's cochlea compensates for an absence of another protein, connexin30.

26 Feb 2007

microRNAs undergo molecular editing with significant physiological consequences

Tiny molecules called microRNAs, only 19 to 21 nucleotides in length, are able to effectively silence sometimes large sets of genes. They do this by specifically binding to and neutralizing another form of RNA called messenger RNA, responsible for conveying the information from genes to the cellular machinery that uses that information to create proteins, the building blocks of the body.

22 Feb 2007

Experimental vector vaccine reduces stillbirths from cytomegalovirus

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed an experimental vaccine that reduces stillbirths among rodents born to mothers infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV) - a common virus that can also cause mental retardation and hearing loss in newborn children who were infected in early fetal life.

21 Feb 2007

Benefits of two cochlear implants in deaf children

Nature has outfitted us with a pair of ears for good reason: having two ears enhances hearing. University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists are now examining whether this is also true for the growing numbers of deaf children who've received not one, but two, cochlear implants to help them hear

13 Feb 2007

Scientists find molecular cause for form of deafness

Scientists exploring the physics of hearing have found an underlying molecular cause for one form of deafness, and a conceptual connection between deafness and the organization of liquid crystals, which are used in flat-panel displays.

5 Feb 2007

Otoferlin, defective in a human deafness form, is essential for exocytosis at the auditory ribbon synapse

By studying a gene earlier linked to deafness in humans, researchers now have new insight into the molecular process by which components of the inner ear send messages to the brain.

20 Oct 2006

NIH launches "Knockout Mouse Project"

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today awarded a set of cooperative agreements, totaling up to $52 million over five years, to launch the Knockout Mouse Project.

7 Sep 2006

British babies to get vaccine against meningitis

Babies in the UK will soon be given a vaccination against the pneumococcal disease meningitis as part and parcel of the standard infant immunisation package.

28 Aug 2006

Autism affects the functioning of virtually the entire brain

A recent study provides evidence that autism affects the functioning of virtually the entire brain, and is not limited to the brain areas involved with social interactions, communication behaviors, and reasoning abilities, as had been previously thought.

16 Aug 2006

3-year-old Iraqi girl arrives in the U.S. to receive cochlear implant

Amina is a 3-year-old Iraqi girl born with Profound Sensorineural Hearing Loss, which means total deafness.

4 Aug 2006

Researchers discover why brain areas fail to work together in autism

In people with autism, the brain areas that perform complex analysis appear less likely to work together during problem solving tasks than in people who do not have the disorder, report researchers working in a network funded by the National Institutes of Health.

12 Jul 2006

Genetic testing can improve newborn screening tests for hearing defects

Researchers have identified several changes that could be made to existing newborn screening tests for hearing defects that could advance the standard of care in detecting deaf infants, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.

17 May 2006

Genetic cause of hearing loss in aging

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have taken a step toward understanding the genetics that make people more susceptible to the loss of hearing as they age.

17 May 2006

Low affinity analogs of thyrotropin-releasing hormone are super-agonists

Chemical knockoffs resembling a key thyroid-related hormone are, in certain cases, more effective than the real thing at activating the target receptor.

16 May 2006

Gene mutation associated with deafness can play an important part in wound healing

A mutation in a gene commonly associated with deafness can play an important part in improving wound healing, a scientist told the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

8 May 2006

New approaches to genetic disease, based on cells' own ability to correct themselves

New approaches to genetic disease, based on cells' own ability to correct themselves, will be outlined today at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

8 May 2006

If jaundice is detected and treated properly children at no greater risk

Newborn babies who are diagnosed with and treated for jaundice are no more likely than other babies to suffer long-term developmental problems, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 May 2006

Birth defects from rubella almost eradicated in the USA

Congenital rubella syndrome, a birth defect caused by the rubella virus (also known as German measles), has practically been eliminated in the U.S., according to a statement published in the April 2006 issue of Birth Defects Research Part A, the official journal of The Teratology Society.

23 Apr 2006

Concern over spread of Mumps in the U.S.

Health officials in the United States have voiced concern about an outbreak of mumps in the Midwest and say they believe some people may have become infected on airline flights.

16 Apr 2006