SHANGHAI,Jan.29(Xinhua)--Usinganexperimentalgenetherapy,ateamledbyChinesescientistshasrecoveredthehearingoffivechildrenbornwithageneticdefectthathadleftthemprofoundlydeaf.Inafirst-in-humanclinicaltrial,theydemonstratedthesafetyandefficacyofthegenetherapyintreatingpatientswithhereditarydeafness,whichafflictsupto26millionpeopleworldwide.TheresearchersfromtheEyeENTHospitalofFudanUniversitydevelopedthegenedrugRRG-003bymountingahumanOTOFtransgeneonadeno-associatedvirus.Then,theyenrolledsixeligiblechildrenwiththeautosomalrecessivedeafness9.ThedeafnessiscausedbyamutationintheOTOFgenethatisknownforresultinginthefailuretoproperlytransmitsoundstimulationsignalsfromtheeartothebrain.Aftertheyadministeredthemedicineintothepatient'sinnerearwithasingleinjection,fiveparticipantsshowedsignificantrecoveryofauditoryandspeechfunctions,accordingtothestudyrecentlypublishedinthejournalLancet.Theaverageauditorybrainstemresponsethresholdimprovedfromgreaterthan95dBatbaselinetoaslowas38dBinoneparticipantbythe26-weekmark.Speechperceptionwasthenrestoredinparticipantswhoexperiencedhearingrecovery.Thegenetherapyisshowntobesafeandefficaciousasanoveltreatmentforchildrenwithautosomalrecessivedeafness9,saidtheresearchers.IndividualsfromSoutheastUniversityinChinaandHarvardMedicalSchoolintheUnitedStatescollaboratedinthestudy.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.