Stem Cell Trial Cures Macular Degeneration (Not Tinnitus Related)

A few newspapers carry the following news:

For example

• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/s...tients--and-with-no-side-effects-9794301.html
• http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/oct/15/stem-cell-success-in-treating-macular-degeneration

While this is not Tinnitus related, restoring photo sensitive cells that reconnect with the optical nerve is quite a feat, and sounds to me vaguely related to restoring hearing.

 

I don't see why the same thing can't be done with hair cells. It's just the eye is so much more accessible to invasive procedures than the kernel sized cochlea hidden in a shell of bone.

 

While being totally ignorant in the field, this seems close enough: we are in the domain of senses

 

I think it’s inevitable that stem research will lead to many cures, including restoring lost hearing, but it’s unrealistic to expect this any time soon unfortunately. I might pessimistically suggest that it could be at least a couple decades away. It is also not known if restoring hearing would even stop tinnitus so the two might be categorised as separate issues. Having said that, it’s always great to see research progressing.

 

Another breakthrough
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ysed-fireman-recovers-thanks-uk-research.html

 

In Vivo Activation of a Conserved MicroRNA Program Induces Mammalian Heart Regeneration
http://www.cell.com/cell-stem-cell/abstract/S1934-5909(14)00454-8

Heart failure is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the developed world, partly because mammals lack the ability to regenerate heart tissue. Whether this is due to evolutionary loss of regenerative mechanisms present in other organisms or to an inability to activate such mechanisms is currently unclear.

Here, we decipher mechanisms underlying heart regeneration in adult zebrafish and show that the molecular regulators of this response are conserved in mammals. We identified miR-99/100 and Let-7a/c, and their protein targets smarca5 and fntb, as critical regulators of cardiomyocyte dedifferentiation and heart regeneration in zebrafish. Although human and murine adult cardiomyocytes fail to elicit an endogenous regenerative response following myocardial infarction, we show that in vivo manipulation of this molecular machinery in mice results in cardiomyocyte dedifferentiation and improved heart functionality after injury.

These data provide a proof-of-concept for identifying and activating conserved molecular programs to regenerate the damaged heart.