Medicine is at the doorstep of a phenomenal revolution, brought about by the advances in the stem cell fi eld and the development of new technologies to engineer cells and tissues into more complex organs. The promise of a true regenerative approach to organ damage and loss of function is closer than ever to becoming a reality. The auditory fi eld is participating in these developments with high expectations. Since the cochlea is an organ of diffi cult access and with very limited regenerative capacity, conventional therapeutic approaches have failed and, currently, the only treatments available are in the form of hearing aids and cochlear implants. The potential restoration of hearing by the use of exogenous stem cells will offer a solution to a condition that has very limited options. In this chapter, we review the increasing volume of research on this emerging fi eld and discuss the key elements that need to be developed further, in order to translate the basic science into a clinical reality.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.