Deafness News and Research

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Significant new research centre - the Deafness, Cognition and Language Research Centre

The centre, based at the UCL (University College London) Department of Human Communication Science, will see ESRC inject £4.5 million over an initial 5 year period into a study of deafness, linguistic systems and communication that will run over a 10 year programme.

10 Oct 2005

Salicylate an active metabolite of aspirin - weakens lipid membranes

It's well known that high doses of aspirin can cause ulcers and temporary deafness, but the biochemical mechanism responsible for these phenomena has never been deciphered.

19 Sep 2005

Finding may significantly broaden understanding of how the brain selects and retains information

By examining how sounds are registered during the process of learning, UC Irvine neurobiologists have discovered a neural coding mechanism that the brain relies upon to register the intensity of memories based on the importance of the experience.

12 Sep 2005

HOXA1 is a gene that's been looking for a disorder for a long time

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston, who specialize in studying the genetics of rare eye-movement disorders, have found a rare genetic syndrome whose implications go far beyond the eye, raising intriguing questions about human cardiovascular and brain development.

12 Sep 2005

Single molecular anchor holds the key to treating many types of bacterial meningitis

By blocking the molecule's anchoring ability, researchers may be able to find a way to stave off the most common serious infection of the central nervous system and a major cause of childhood death and disability. The researchers' findings appear in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

5 Sep 2005

UCI study helps identify one reason why women have lower stroke risk than men

Estrogen's role as an inhibitor of toxic-free radicals in cerebral blood vessels may be a key reason why premenopausal women have a lower stroke risk than men.

26 Aug 2005

Scientists step closer to understanding the genetic pathway involved in the development of hearing

New research findings, published online in the journal Nature Genetics, detail how sensory hair cells in the ear - the cells largely responsible for hearing - develop unique shapes that enable the perception of sound.

22 Aug 2005

New hope for those deaf from immune system attack

A new study may one day help those deafened by immune system attack, and possibly also lead to a test that could show which patients may be helped by immediate steroid treatment.

16 Aug 2005

Hearing protein TRPA1 also involved with pain perception

The same protein that “translates” sound into nerve signals to the brain and enables individuals to hear is also required for pain perception, researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have found.

21 Jul 2005

America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2005

The adolescent birth rate has reached another record low, the death rate for children between ages 1 and 4 is the lowest ever, young children are more likely to receive their recommended immunizations, and fourth graders are scoring better in math, according to a yearly compendium of statistics from federal agencies concerned with children.

20 Jul 2005

Routine immunization virtually eliminates major killer of young children in the Gambia

The Lancet has today published online new research from a team led by the UK Medical Research Council's Richard Adegbola showing that routinely vaccinating infants against H. influenzae type b (Hib) - a bacterium that causes deadly diseases including pneumonia and meningitis - has virtually eliminated Hib meningitis in The Gambia.

29 Jun 2005

New candidate for a vaccine against Lassa fever

Among the family of viral hemorrhagic fevers (which includes those caused by the Ebola, Marburg, and Hanta viruses), Lassa fever is the biggest public health problem.

28 Jun 2005

Scientists have tracked down the biological trigger that gives rise to Van Buchem disease

...a hereditary, disfiguring bone disorder that can cause blindness and deafness. The findings provide insight into long-range gene regulation and could lead to new treatments for osteoporosis and other crippling bone disorders.

16 Jun 2005

Protein TRPA1 essential for hearing also vital for pain perception

The same protein that "translates" sound into nerve signals to the brain and enables individuals to hear is also required for pain perception, researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have found.

25 May 2005

Miserable mumps makes a comeback

There is concern in the UK at the growing number of outbreaks of mumps among children and young people.

12 May 2005

Study sheds light on long term outlook for babies born before 2 weeks

The Medical Research Council (MRC) has announced that it has allocated £3 million to fund the next phase of a unique study looking into the survival prospects and long-term health and social issues facing extremely premature babies.

9 May 2005

Rubella no threat in U.S.

Dr. Julie Gerberding, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ,speaking at the National Immunization Conference Washington, DC, says the rubella virus, a major cause of serious birth defects such as deafness and blindness, also known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is no longer considered to be a major public health threat in the United States.

21 Mar 2005

New understanding to how cells in auditory system organize before hearing develops

Generations of neuroscientists have been indoctrinated into believing that our senses, thoughts, feelings and movements are orchestrated by a communication network of brain cells, or neurons, each responsible for relaying one specific chemical message called a neurotransmitter.

7 Mar 2005

Differing forms of taste genes mean that we all live in our own unique taste world

A study published in the February 22 issue of Current Biology confirms the influential role of genetics in determining the wide range of human sensitivity to taste, ultimately impacting how we each perceive the world in a slightly different way.

22 Feb 2005

Novel approach to treating hearing loss

GenVec today reported that encouraging preclinical findings on a novel approach to treating hearing loss have been published in the March 2005 issue of Nature Medicine.

14 Feb 2005