Dr. Rivolta on stem cells cure for hearing loss and making hearing aids and cochlear implants obsolete someday soon

Here's a subtitled video and article (transcript) on Dr Marcelo Rivolta who is the Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield where he explains how his stem cells research could make hearing aids and cochlear implants a thing of the past in his quest to find a cure for deafness in the field of sensorineural hearing loss.

On the video be sure to click on the "S" button for "subtitle" on the left of the screen to get the English subtitles with the video. There is the option of choosing video itself only, video and subtitles, video with a British Sign Languageinterpreter, or video, subtitles and BSL.

Hattip: Neuro

David Armand in "Where I Lay my Hat"

David Armand, an English comedian who is known for his visual sight gags using mime movements and gestures to "interpret" a song. He is especially well known for a song he mimed called "Torn" a few years back that propelled him to comedic status. Here are two videos with subtitles that capture his funny comedy style of miming a song. Here he plays as "Johann Lippowitz" an interpretive mime to a song for "Where I lay my hat" by Paul Young and "Torn" by Natalie Imbrulia.




TORN by Natalie Imbruglia.




UPDATE: There's a bit of a debate in one forum over David Armand's mime skit on "Torn" where some forum members think it's a snark against the Deaf community making fun of sign language (which is not the case) and some objection over the use of the words "deaf karaoke".

Stem Cell Transplantation into the Damaged Mammalian Inner Ear

Below is one of Dr. Douglas A. Cotanche's projects that is ongoing. He is also scheduled for a live chat tonight on stem cells and for the restoration of nerve deafness (sensorineural hearing loss).

Stem Cell Transplantation into the Damaged Mammalian Inner Ear.
PI: Douglas Cotanche, Collaborator: Dr. Mark Parker, Emerson College & Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. This project focuses on the utilization of stem cells to replace damaged hair cells in the mammalian organ of Corti. We are transplanting mouse and human neural stem cells into the cochleas of sound damaged guinea pigs and have shown that these stem cells migrate throughout the spiral ganglion and into the organ of Corti where they begin to differentiate into tissue-specific cell types to replace those damaged by the sound exposure. We have also been exploring the genetic profiles of these neural stem cells and are developing methods for “priming” the neural stem cells by growing them in culture along with immortalized cochlear cells. We have been able to show that co-culturing the stem cells causes a change in the genes and proteins they express so that they take on the aspects of cochlear progenitor cells. This will enable us to target the stem cells so that they differentiate down specific pathways needed for cells to repair the damaged cochlear sensory epithelium. Eventually we hope to be able to use these stem cells as a therapeutic treatment for sensorineural hearing loss in humans.

Stem Cells for hearing loss live chat tomorrow night, November 19, 2009!

Stem Cells for hearing loss live chat tomorrow night, November 19, 2009!

(Errata: The topic heading said November 18. Correct date is November 19. It has been corrected)

Get ready and dial in at 9 PM Eastern Time (8PM - Central time, 7PM Mountain time, or 6 PM West Coast time)


Topic: "Development and regeneration of hair cells – the latest news in research"

Guest Speaker: Dr. Douglas A. Cotanche

Date & Time: November 19, 2009 at 9 PM

Live Webchat Schedule

Hearing Loss Association of America is proud to present live moderated chats,
featuring the nation's leading experts in hearing loss. This is your opportunity
to ask a question and learn more about hearing loss from leaders in a number of
medical disciplines associated with hearing loss.

How to Participate (no
need to register):
1. Go to www.myhearingloss.org/ (5-10mins before
webchat is scheduled)
2. Click on the "Log in to our Chat Room" button
3. Enter a username to use for the chat
4. Click on the "Connect" button
5. Click on "Rooms" tab (found on the right column)
6. Then double click
on "Guest_Chat" to join the webchat

NOTE: The webchat is a moderated
chat to allow the guest speaker to answer all the questions that have been
submitted in advance, which means you will not be able to type in your question
until after all these questions have been answered.

Here are my questions that I submitted to Dr. Cotanche.

Dr. Cotanche,

I run a blog (Kokonut Pundit) and I do try and keep abrest of these news and developments regarding stem cells and gene therapy for the restoration/cure of hearing loss, mostly in the arena of nerve deafness.

Have you heard recently the latest development about an 18 year old woman Chloe Sohl who had her hearing partially restored (so far - see captioned video http://kokonutpundits.blogspot.com/2009/11/video-interview-caption-with-first.html) by using her own adult stem cells? And if so, is this an indication of how rapidly the field of regenerative medicine using stem cells for the cure/restoration of hearing loss? Instead of a few decades away are we looking at within the next 5 or even 10 years to see this become a common procedure? If not in the United States but what about in other countries (due to FDA lagging behind?).

Thank you

Checkmate?

I read kmayes response that she noticed an interesting thing regarding the news of an 18 year old woman who received her own adult stem cells treatment saw her hearing loss improve dramatically.

I noticed one thing… a total silence from the people who are involved in advocating for audism, DBC, etc… no comments from them (I am sure they lurk here though.)

Interesting.

I think all this is an understatment on what's going on here. More like an exclamation point and some just don't want to deal with that fact. Hence, the literal silence.

Here's the captioned video about the story of that 18 year old woman who may be in fact the first American to have her hearing loss nearly restored with the help of her own adult stem cells.
Why are the Deaf bloggers so quiet on this? If it were a cochlear implant thing they'd be all over it like a moth to a flame because it's a topic they've become well accustomed to and are comfortable in dealing with it, even acceptance. But what about the story on this adult stem cells successful treatment (so far) on an 18 year old deaf woman who was once hearing is now close to her former self? Doing a blog Google search hardly show any Deaf blogs that have covered the breaking story. Not hardly but none is more like it but save a few.

Perhaps they are still digesting the story? Perhaps so even though many believed just a few months ago that a cure or successful restoration (partial or otherwise) wouldn't happen in another few decades away find suddenly themselves confronted with the fact that it happened just last month!

Adult stem cells research and application for the restoration and cure for nerve deafness are fast approaching and becoming a reality. There is no way this can be compared on the level of cochlear implant which was a source of scorn and distrust for over 20 years. According to the video it appeared that using your own adult stem cells has seemingly proven to be safe and effective compared to embryonic stem cells and cells donated from other people for use. Perhaps the Deaf community doesn't want to talk about this success extensively so because looking at the chess board seeing that they've been "checkmated"? After all, how can you compete against 33+ million people with hearing loss with the majority of them due to nerve deafness who will welcome this successful adult stem cells treatment for hearing loss. Even Gamas Wanderings' own poll showed that approximately 60% of those who voted would take or might take the adult stem cells cure over those who would not. That's pretty telling. Funny how people thought cochlear implant was bad enough, we now have a very real possibility in the very near term well within our lifetime to see that nerve deafness hearing loss would become a thing of the past once this adult stem cells treatment begin to ramp up and that 2009 is the turning point.

Checkmate?

Or not?

You decide.

Will Deaf Culture Die Out Someday? - Part II

If you want a quick recap on "Part I" piece go to my September 19, 2009 blog. Here, I just wanted to respond to "Souggy's" blog claim that I "was proud of that 'fact' " that Deaf culture is dying, which was an irresponsible comment on his part and showed an attempt to twist words here.

I was reading a blog that Deaf culture was dying because of cochlear implants and stem cells; and apparently the blogger (or so-called pundit) was proud of that “fact,” which was the reason why I published this blog post.

There is a caveat at the very beginning of my blog "Will Deaf Culture Die Someday? " in my first paragraph.

There is always a possibility that Deaf culture could die out and this is dependent on a variety of factors with some of them going against the spread of Deaf culture and its language, ASL. But at this point it's probably more of a matter of "if" and not "when."

It's pretty clear what I wrote was a matter of "if" and not when.

I'm pretty sure Souggy was referring to my blog piece since he commented about "a blog" he read and that mine was dated September 19, 2009 while his blog piece was on September 20, 2009. And what was interesting was that he never bothered to make clear who he was referring to. No link or names. I wonder why? Rather curious to try and hide it like that.

Secondly, there is nothing in my blog indicating I was "proud of that fact" that Deaf culture is dying because of cochlear implant and stem cells. If "Souggy" actually took the time to read what I wrote it was discussed in terms of a possibility, and not a fact that it will happen. In my blog piece there is nothing said or implied about being proud to see Deaf culture die out. It was irresponsible of "Souggy" to say such a thing. I presented a scenario that because of technology and the advancing biotechnnology could get to the point where it could heavily influence and impact the Deaf community in ways not seen with hearing aids and cochlear implants, and how it could affect mating preferences among deaf and hard of hearing people over time.

Stem cell history on search for cure for hearing loss

Over at The Stem Cell Blog where David Granovsky compiled a summary with links on the history of stem cells research for the search (more like a race right now) on the cure for hearing loss from January 2001 to November 2009. It is interesting to see just how fast research has evolved over a relatively short amount of time to the point where an 18 year old woman whose hearing has basically recovered (so far) in less than 2 months once given her own adult stem cells to treat her hearing loss.

For the rest of Kokonut Pundit blogs on stem cells for the cure on hearing loss go here.

Hattip: Granovsky.

Stem cells strategy for hearing loss cure...a captioned video

Blinded by my own hearing

Not me but I was pleased to hear David Granovsky's comment in his blog "The Stem Cell Blog" when he covered the Chloe Sohl's story on her miraculous recovery from her hearing loss using her own adult stem cells. David went onto say that basically he forgot about people with hearing loss may unable to hear or understand fully what the original YouTube version of Chloe's story. And that he was "blinded" by his own hearing for not thinking about a captioned version of Chloe's video story.


Related Kokonut Pundit blogs on adult stem cells and hearing loss.

Video Interview (caption) with first American to have her hearing loss restored

Not fully restored so far but it looks like Chloe's hearing is on the mend already since this adult stem cells procedure began only a few months ago. Watch the video about a story that is probably the first case of an American woman that was successfully treated with her own adult stem cells to treat her hearing loss caused by her auto-immune resonse.




More info on the story.


YouTube's version without captions.

First Successful Case Example of a Hearing Loss Cure in a Human Patient?

With the slow progress and FDA approval in the United States on using stem cells to help treat nerve deafness hearing loss a patient with autoimmune condition hearing loss was treated in South Korea using her own adult stem cells that eventually restored her hearing to almost normal levels.

Chloe visited Dr. Won, a plastic surgeon in Los Angeles to harvest her fat tissue around her belly button in last June. Then the tissue was sent to the laboratory RNL BIO in Germantown, Maryland, where they isolated stem cells, put them in liquid nitrogen shipper and transported them to RNL BIO in Seoul, Korea. It took them a month to expand her stem cells to a sufficient amount enough to treat her hearing loss. Chloe's family planned a trip to Korea during their summer vacation. At last, on July 27, 2009, they visited Korea for two weeks. The stem cell treatment took place in Japan -- 600 million cells were administered by three injections with 5 day intervals. The cells were injected into her veins and auditory system.

Chloe's hearing was tested two months after the procedure was completed on October 16, 2009. The results were spectacular. The left side of her ear improved 50% from not being able to hear at all. The right side of her ear gained almost complete hearing.

Dr. Jotterand could not bear her excitement, "Now it's just been a 180 degree turnaround. She's just enjoying life and enjoying being a freshman at the university. She's just having a great time and it's just wonderful to see the joy in her own face and in her life."

Again, with a grain of salt but this looks more promising. With more countries such as Mexico taking part in using stem cells to began the treatment of nerve deafness hearing loss, the United States will surely be left in the dust at this rate unless the FDA somehow fast track this medical process just as they have fast tracked for the treatment of damaged heart muscles with the patient's own stem cells.

Hat tip: Neuro.

UPDATE: See caption video interview of Chloe!

RIT Library Guide References Kokonut Pundit's blog piece

An interesting tidbit I found out recently. RIT library listed my blog by linking under "Deaf Native American Resources" to a piece I did about whether ASL has hurt Indian Sign Language where it is slowly disappearing. Scroll down to "Web Resources" to find my blog name.

Kokonut Pundit is now on Twitter

Going to try and see how this works out but go ahead and sign on if you want to follow me through this Twitter thing. A little social experiment to try out just as my blog was a "little social experiment." heh....

I have my Twitter icon up on the upper left hand column of my blog and all you have to do is click on it to get to my Twitter page.

Deaf man hears sound of piano for the first time

From the award winning documentary, "From Silence to Sound," :

Brooklyn Girl Productions presents the New York City premiere of the award-winning documentary film From Silence to Sound at the New York International Film Festival on Friday, October 23, 2009.

From Silence to Sound is an inspiring film that tells the extraordinary story of Justin Garrett, a man who has been profoundly deaf since birth. On March 13, 2006, Justin made history as the first recipient of a bilateral cochlear implant in Oklahoma.

Director Chase Matthews offers this moving documentary about Justin Garrett, a completely deaf young man who, in 2006, agreed to undergo radical cochlear implant surgery that could possibly make him hear for the first time. Matthews follows Justin as he prepares for, submits to and recovers from the high-stakes surgery. Success will reverse Justin’s condition, but failure will irrevocably destine him to a lifetime of total silence.

For the First Time Plays Piano for Deaf Mother

Here's a wonderful and true story of how deligence and perserverance paid off in learning how to play a piano and for the first time at a piano recital for his mother who was deaf.

Deaf and Blind Kid Plays Jazz Piano

Check it out. A young man with cerebral palsy began playing the piano just last year on a piano given to him for Christmas. He taught himself to play the piano by... ear! And plays some nice jazz pieces. The power of hearing music.

The Errigo and Aguilar Mess

I haven't heard anything about the Errigo and Aguilar mess but briefly heard about it through osmosis until I came across Gamas Wanderings' blog about the whole subject, especially after reading the comments, too. I was able to obtain and read the court transcript about some restraining order nonsense over some boogey-man claim over a threat. At least it certainly appears to be so. But if somebody is electronically harassing you, being a cyberbully or a cyberstalker, you do have the option of not responding, put the person on ignore, select their incoming email as "junk email" and so on. What both of them could've done was to ignore each other, especially Ms Aguilar who went ahead and filed for a restraining order against Errigo. This drama was simply ridiculous to the point of total embarassment for one individual. Let's not use audism or "Deafhood" as a weapon of choice. It simply becomes an exercise of futility and embarrassment.

Closed Captioned Video: Rush Limbaugh says Sarah Palin is ready to be president

Captioning by Kokonut Pundit.

When the "a-wordism" needs to disappear

Sometimes with good intention comes with unintended consequences. In this case it's the invention of a new word, "avdism" (yes, I purposely misspelled that). What's the value I see in it? Probably the same value in where I link it to describe the meaning behind it.

Gamas Wanderings has a nice blog on the word "avdism" and how it should be discontinued because it creates more problems than it does solve them. Namely one of them is the constant abuse of the word used as a weapon of choice to attack rather than to educate about a particular form of discrimination. It would be better to keep it neutral as possible and at the same time educate those who do not understand about the issues of deafness. Pointing fingers at them and scream, "Avdist! Avdist!" like some scene in the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" certainly does not help the situation any more than people use a cop out word "Racist!" It just creates more problems than it does solving it.

It's time to retire the a-wordism once and for all and focus on the actual education of the public through neutral means and less attacking those who do not fully understand the issue of deafness and even the culture behind it.

First case of stem cell treatment on hearing loss on humans?

From what I've found there seems to be two patients with sensorineural hearing loss iare undergoing stem cell treatments in Mexico at the Nepsis Institute from a "Ask the Doctor" which seems to be on the edge of discovering how well these treatments will work in restoring some or all of the hearing nerves.

6) Are you or can you treat sensory neural hearing loss with adult autologous stem cells? If not, do you expect to in the next year? Do you know of any doctors treating hearing loss at this point, if Nepsis does not?

Actually, we have two patients with sensory neural hearing loss who will be undergoing stem cell treatment in the next two months. The approach is unique and proprietary, so I can’t get into specifics at this time.

In time we'll find out whether if this is a success or not and if so would prove ground-breaking so early in this game rather than 10 or 15 years down the road. As always, take this with a grain of salt.

Hat-tip: Neuro