The UK has approved the first human trial for stem cell therapy aimed at reversing hearing loss, overseen by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
This research is being led by a team from the University of Sheffield, who have set up a spin-out company to advance the project. The treatment focuses on sensorineural hearing loss, which happens when the delicate structures of the inner ear are physically damaged.
Known as Rincell-1, this treatment seeks to regenerate damaged nerves within the cochlea, enabling them to transmit signals to the brain once more.
Marcelo Rivolta, chief scientific officer at Rinri Therapeutics, emphasized the promising outcomes of Rincell-1 in addressing the inner ear’s fragile neural structures in a recent statement.
Hearing loss impacts over a billion people globally, as indicated by the World Health Organization. Current interventions like cochlear implants don’t completely restore hearing, mainly because they require some level of undamaged cochlea to be effective.
The cochlea has hair cells that detect sound, and if these cells are severely harmed, they can’t regenerate — which contributes to age-related hearing decline that many of us experience.
For years, scientists have aspired to regenerate these crucial receptors, and the team believes Rincell-1 could be the breakthrough they’ve needed. Using embryonic stem cells, the treatment is designed to develop into auditory neuron cells that link hair cells to the brain stem. These stem cells are introduced into the cochlea during cochlear implant surgery, and once there, they can form auditory neurons and help re-establish the signal transmission from the hair cells.
Simon Chandler, CEO of Rinri Therapeutics, mentioned in a podcast that their method involves transplanting cells capable of becoming fully functional and restoring the inner ear’s structure, which could eventually lead to restored hearing.
The upcoming trial will take place in the UK and recruit 20 patients who will have cochlear implant surgery. Half of them will be those with severe age-related hearing loss, termed presbycusis, while the others will have auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD), characterized by the inner ear’s ability to detect sound but not transmit it to the brain. Participants from both groups will be randomly divided to either receive Rincell-1 or solely the cochlear implant.
Chandler pointed out that Rincell-1 could complement cochlear implants but didn’t exclude the chance that it might eventually function independently. If proven effective, it could significantly change the current landscape of hearing loss treatment.
