(NewsNation) — A child in England has become the first patient treated in a global gene therapy trial to gain the ability to hear, according to the National Health Service.
Opal Sandy, 18 months, was born deaf due to a rare genetic condition, auditory neuropathy, caused by the disruption of nerve impulses traveling from the inner ear to the brain, the NHS said.
Within a month of having the gene therapy infusion to her right ear, Opal responded to sound. She was even able to hear with the cochlear implant in her left ear switched off.
“When Opal could first hear us clapping unaided it was mind-blowing — we were so happy when the clinical team confirmed at 24 weeks that her hearing was also picking up softer sounds and speech. The phrase ‘near normal’ hearing was used and everyone was so excited such amazing results had been achieved,” Opal’s mother, Jo Sandy, told the NHS.
The genetic procedure involved Opal being given an infusion via an injection into her right cochlea, or the spiral cavity, which contained a modified virus known as AAV1, which acts as a “working copy of the OTOF gene.” A cochlear implant was also fitted at the same time to her left ear.
“These results are spectacular and better than I expected,” said Professor Manohar Bance, an ear surgeon at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and chief investigator of the trial. “Gene therapy has been the future in otology and audiology for many years and I’m so excited that it is now finally here. This is hopefully the start of a new era for gene therapies for the inner ear and many types of hearing loss.”