Incredible things are happening in China. In a world-first, deaf children in a gene therapy trial now have hearing in both ears.
Five children who were born deaf because of genetic mutations that hampered signals from the ear to the brain formed part of the study from Fudan University in Shanghai, China.
The children, aged one to 11, underwent a life-altering transformation within a few weeks of the therapy. They can now identify the source of sounds and understand speech in noisy environments, and two of them were even found dancing to music. 💃
But how does it work? According to the scientists, the therapy uses an inactive virus to smuggle copies of the affected gene into the inner ear. The cells in the ear then use the genetic material, for example, to create working copies of the protein otoferlin, which is needed for hearing.
In another groundbreaking medical breakthrough, a team of Chinese researchers have reportedly cured a 59-year-old man of Type 2 diabetes using stem cell therapy.
Just 11 weeks later, he no longer needed external insulin, and within a year, he was off oral medication altogether.
A team led by Dr. Yin Hao from Shanghai Changzheng Hospital made this possible by using the patient’s own cells to create artificial pancreatic tissue. They took his peripheral blood mononuclear cells, reprogrammed them into “seed cells,” and grew new pancreatic islet tissue in a lab.
Dr Yin said this was a win for regenerative medicine, which uses the body’s healing powers to treat disease. It’s like Wolverine or Deadpool, but real. 🤭
This could be useful for countries like ours where there has been a notable rise in Type 2 diabetes.
It will take more research and trials to roll these out to the public, but we’re excited for a world where people can hear the voices of their loved ones for the first time and where people don’t have to choose between buying their insulin or buying food.
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