World-first trial of regenerative hearing drug is successfully completed

Researchers at University College London (UCL) and University College London Hospital (UCLH) have completed the first trial of a new gene therapy designed to restore hearing loss. The REGAIN trial, which has published its results in Nature Communications, is the first-ever study that focused on a drug called gamma-secretase inhibitor for restoring lost hearing. The trial aimed to explore a treatment that restores hearing loss, and the results have been promising. Researchers at UCL and UCLH have completed a trial of a new gene therapy aimed at restoring hearing loss. Although the therapy did not restore hearing across the entire group of adults with mild to moderate hearing loss, some patients showed changes in various hearing tests, suggesting that the drug has activity in the inner ear. Participants in the trial were aged 18-80 from the UK, Germany, and Greece with mild to moderate hearing. Participants in the REGAIN trial received three injections of the drug through the eardrum to restore their hearing loss. Their hearing was then tested before and after the drug administration.   To read the full article, click here.