Tmc gene therapy restores auditory function in deaf mice
Currently, pharmaceutical company Novartis is experimenting with a new drug containing a gene called Atoh1 that they believe will improve hearing lost through age or disease or listening to too much loud music over a lifetime.
Their experiment focused on a gene that causes hair cells in the inner ear — essential to the sense of hearing — to grow, restoring the ability to hear.
Using gene therapy to treat hereditary hearing loss may still be a long way off, with clinical trials not expected for another ten years, but the Novartis study is more advanced. The Swiss company’s early trial is underway with results expected in 2017.I hope it works. I hope they get it working in less than 10 years and I hope its not based on prenatal t-cell research.
We parents of the "specials" know only too well the hurts our kids feel when they are left out of the social gatherings relative to childhood.
I wonder if the parents know what would happen if I brought Timothy? The interruptions... the meltdowns... how I would hate to take the spotlight from the birthday child.
So we politely decline. Every. Single. One.
Until this one arrived......
"Carter sat beside Timothy at school and he always talks about him. I really hope he can come. We are renting a bounce castle that we can attach a small bounce slide at the bottom. We will also have water balloon's and water guns. Maybe Timothy can come earlier in the day if it would be too much with the whole class. Let me know how we can make it work."
This Mom rocks.~Personal note~
I lost most of my hearing due to a infection that killed my hair cells over 10 years ago.
There is a young lady of my acquaintance who grew up in my bible classes. She got married and moved away. It's very difficult for her to have children. Her and her husband decided to stop having kids in the best interest of her health. This last pregnancy they had a little boy, which was great because their first baby was a girl. The boy has Downs Syndrome. My heart has been breaking for these kids.
I have spent the last 10 years being acquainted with a Downs girl. Res, she is the most amazing child. Her name is Rachel, and when I see her on Sunday mornings and she gives me a hug, let me tell you something Res, you keep that hug for the whole day. I have never known anyone with more enthusiasm and pure joy.
ReplyDeleteI call Downs kids God's undercover angels for the simple reason that they are so untouched and pure in heart and soul that God just has to have a special purpose for them when Jesus comes back.
Can you imagine when the time is right and God heals their minds, what those minds and hearts will be able to do? So untouched by the corruption of the current culture, they will be amazing warriors for God. It is like God put a shield on their mind to prevent the taint from seeping through.
After the honor of knowing Rachel, I am convinced of a couple of things. One, I think things like autism and Downs are a protection of certain people that God has a special future purpose for. They are the way they are for a reason. Not just the reasons that man has been able to identify.
Two, I think God knows the heart of this couple, and that He gave them this child for a purpose. It might be hard to see the purpose, because society wants us to look at only the perfect. But there is a purpose to this child, and God will make those parents aware of it when the time is right.
Parents of these special kids need all of our support. Yes, it might cause some interesting incidents at parties and such, but healthy kids need to know and learn to look beneath the surface of these kids. Taking the time to know these special children enriches the lives of healthy kids, and teaches them to stop thinking on such a superficial level.
Thank you Susan.
ReplyDeleteWould it be alright if I shared your comment with them?
Most definitely. I would be honored to help support them. God chose them for these kids for a reason Res. That can give a lot of comfort and strength according to the mother of the Downs girl I know.
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