EuroHear
Research Areas
At a Glance
- Status: Completed Consortium
- Year Launched: 2004
- Initiating Organization: France's Institute of Health and Medical Research
- Initiator Type: Government
- No disease focus
- Location: Europe
Abstract
The EU-funded project EUROHEAR ('Advances in hearing science: from functional genomics to therapies') set out to expand medical understanding of hearing loss and treatment. Tens of millions of Europeans suffer from a hearing impairment of some degree. They range from the one child in 1,000 who is born deaf, to the many whose hearing is declining as they grow older. EuroHear has two closely inter-related objectives. These are (1 ) to provide fundamental knowledge about the development and function of the inner ear, and (2) to identify the molecular defects underlying hereditary hearing impairments (HI), including presbycusis, one of the most frequent forms of HI. Achieving these objectives will facilitate the development of therapies for alleviating HI.
Mission
The research team's goals were: to identify the genes involved in both early-and late-onset hearing impairment; to understand the mechanisms behind both normal and impaired hearing; and to develop tools to prevent and cure hearing impairment.
EUROHEAR's researchers, provided a better understanding of how these hair cells operate and the specific mechanisms involved in turning sounds into electrical signals.
In total, the team discovered 12 new genes for deafness, most of which affect the cochlea. One of the genes, however, causes a defect in nerve cells of the central nervous systems that are responsible for processing the information coming from the cochlea.
Researchers also developed diagnostic tools to identify which genetic mutation is causing a patient's hearing problems. This is important because it can help doctors decide if a deaf child will benefit from a cochlear implant. For a cochlear implant to work, the auditory nerve must be intact, so if a patient has a mutation that affects only the cochlea, he or she will likely benefit from a cochlear implant.
Structure & Governance
Coordinator
INSTITUT DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE, France
Rue de Tolbiac
PARIS
France
Financing
The project is part of the European Commission Sixth Framework Programme (FP6)
Impact/Accomplishment
With the completion of EUROHEAR's work in November 2009, a wealth of new information on the genetics behind hearing impairment was made available, advancing medical knowledge on causes, diagnosis and potential treatments.
Links/Social Media Feed
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Homepage |
http://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/75689_en.html |
Points of Contact
INSTITUT DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE, France
Rue de Tolbiac
PARIS
France
Administrative contact: Christine PETIT, (Principal investigator)
Tel.: +33-145-688890
Fax: +33-145-688001
Sponsors & Partners
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University College of London |
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Tel Aviv University |
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Medical Research Council |
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Stitching Katholieke Universiteit, University Medical Centre Nijmegen |
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Universitatsklinikum Freiburg |
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Max Plank Society for the Advancement of Science |
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Zentrum Fur Molekulare Neurobiologie |
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University of Sussex |
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Universitatsklinikum Bonn |
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Commissariat A L’energie Atomique |
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Instituto Veneto Di Medicina Molecolare |
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Fundacion Para La Investigacion Biomedica Del Hospital Universitario Roman Y Cajal |
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Universitatsmedizin Gottingen |
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University of Helsinki |
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Lnstitut Curie |
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Genome Research Limited |
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Karolinska Institutet |
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Universiteit Antwerpen |
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Institute of Experimental Medicine |
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Acreo AB |
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Integragen SA |
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University of SFAX for the South |
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Institute of Genetics University of Bonn |
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University Hospital of the University of Cologne |
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Max-Delbruck-Centrum For Molekulare Medizin |
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Philipps-Universitat Marburg |