Disabling hearing loss affects one in every ten people and up to 25% of people over 60, according to the World Health Organization. Sensorineural hearing loss, the most frequent form of hearing loss, is caused by damage to specialized cells in the cochlea called hair cells (HCs) and spiral ganglion neurons (SGNs), respectively, both of which are essential for hearing. According to the authors of a recent paper published in Stem Cell Reports, researchers have generated “cochlear organoids with functional synapses for the first time, which provides a platform for deciphering the mechanisms of sensorineural hearing loss,” opening up avenues for investigating new therapeutic approaches.

In a paper recently published in Stem Cell Reports, researchers followed-up with a screen of 464 drugs and identified a small group of about 20 that reduced C4 secretion from astrocytes. These drugs were effective both in healthy astrocytes & in astrocytes made from Schizophrenia patients’ stem cells.

Sensory neurons of the peripheral nervous system, which sense touch, temperature, and pain, can be permanently lost during infections, trauma, in response to certain medications, and in diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy. Current treatments reduce symptoms but cannot bring back lost sensory neurons, which are thought to have a very limited ability to regenerate after injury or disease A recent study in Stem Cell Reports shows that there are stem cells in the sensory nervous system of mice with the potential to regenerate lost neurons and glia.