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A British toddler who was born deaf has regained her hearing after becoming the first person in the world to be subjected to a new gene therapy. Doctors speak of a new era in the treatment of deafness.
Opal Sandy was born with auditory neuropathy (ANSD), a rare condition caused by a faulty gene that disrupts nerve impulses as they travel from the inner ear to the brain.
The 18-month-old girl from Oxfordshire was the first person in the world to be treated with ‘Chord’, a new gene therapy that delivers a “working” copy of the defective gene into the ear. The operation lasted barely sixteen minutes, but was an unprecedented success. The girl can hear almost perfectly again. According to her parents, she now enjoys playing with toy drums and her new favorite hobby is now making noise by throwing cutlery around. “I really couldn’t believe it,” says her mother Jo Sandy. “It was crazy.”
The results were better than expected or hoped, says ear surgeon and lead researcher Manohar Bance. “Opal’s hearing recovery has been so spectacular that we now hope it can be a possible cure for all patients. This trial was just the beginning of gene therapies. It marks a new era in the treatment of deafness.”
Recently, a second child also underwent the same treatment, also with positive results. It is now expected that more deaf children will be recruited for the pilot project.
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