To identify candidate genes for human hearing disorders and to understand better human hearing at the molecular level, we constructed a human cochlear cDNA library. An aliquot of the unsubtracted cochlear library was contributed to the IMAGE Consortium at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the generation of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) by the Merck/WashU EST project. Over 4000 ESTs we...

The 35delG mutation in the gap junction protein, β2, 26kDa (GJB2) gene is the most common mutation that has been found in children with non syndromic hearing loss. Testing for the GJB2 gene mutation is simple and can directly answer the concerns of the parents about cause of the disorder and prognosis for their children. Cochlear implantation (CI) is one of the methods of hearing rehabilitation...

Hearing impairment (HI) is the most frequent sensory defect with wide genetic heterogeneity. Approximately 80% of genetic hearing loss is non-syndromic and 15-25% of exhibit autosomal dominant inheritance. We analysed an Italian three generation family in which non-syndromic hearing impairment is transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait. Onset of HI in all affected subjects occurred in the se...

In 20% of cases, hereditary non-syndromic hearing loss has an autosomal dominant inheritance (ADNSHL). To date, more than 50 loci for ADNSHL have been mapped to different chromosomal regions. In order to verify whether genomic alterations contribute to the hearing loss etiology and to search for novel deafness candidate loci, we investigated probands from families with ADNSHL by oligonucleotide...

The exquisite sensitivity of the cochlea, which mediates the transduction of sound waves into nerve impulses, depends on the endocochlear potential and requires a highly specialized environment that enables and sustains sensory function. Disturbance of cochlear homeostasis is the cause of many forms of hearing loss including the most frequently occurring syndromic and non-syndromic forms of her...

AIM To develop a screening in order to determine the more common syndromic and non-syndromic genetic SNHL, considering epidemiological data, information and the development of new technologies; clinical implications and bioethical issues. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reviewed the literature in order to develop a screening that includes: history, patterns of inheritance, physical evaluation, labor...