In a research article in BMC Medicine this week, Nakagawa and colleagues examine whether insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) applied topically through gelatin hydrogels could both improve hearing, and minimize adverse effects in patients who were initially unresponsive to treatment with systemic glucocorticoids for SSHL. Inner ear cells have limited regenerative capacity, and so it seems that using a growth factor topically to protect against further degeneration has a positive effect on hearing. These initial findings suggest that this approach may have great potential in helping tackle SSHL and provides hope for hitherto untreatable patients.
Whilst there is still much controversy surrounding both the etiology and potential treatments for SSHL, this is an area of intense research and so with positive breakthroughs such as that presented by Nakagawa et al, it appears we are going some way to reduce the misery experienced by sufferers of SSHL.
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