Objective
A cochlear implant (CI) is a neuro-prosthesis for severe deafness. Our main objective is to pharmacologically treat the auditory nerve after CI, to protect the nerve from implantation trauma and to re-grow its peripheral processes. This treatment should improve speech understanding, enhancing the life quality of the patient. Animal studies, and studies on human tissue samples, will be performed to determine the efficacy of neurotrophins and antioxidants in preserving the auditory nerve following deafness. Delivery systems will also designed to supply drugs at the time of CI. Safety, effectiveness and dosage will be investigated, leading eventually to the first human trials of NTF in the inner ear. The outcomes of the research will have implications for the pharmacological treatment of hearing loss, for the use of NTF to prevent neural degeneration in CNS and for other neuroprostheses.
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
33014 TAMPERE
Finland