Meeting the Challenges of Hearing Loss Prevention
Ototoxicity refers to the property of being toxic to the ear. Certain drugs may have side effects that can damage the inner ear and result in hearing loss, often permanently. Among these drugs, two highly effective and widely used, life-saving platinum-based chemotherapy drugs, Cisplatin and Carboplatin are known to create a high risk for bilateral, permanent hearing loss, tinnitus, and ear pain, which can have a serious impact on a patient’s quality of life following treatment for cancer.
This hearing loss can occur within a short period of time following treatment, occur later, or progress over time, and is generally irreversible. Children are most susceptible to these risks, which may go undiagnosed, often resulting in issues with cognition, speech, and social development, in addition to attention and behavioral problems.
One new study by researchers from the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, indicates that platinum-based therapies may cause hearing loss due to the buildup and retention of these drugs in the cochlea of the ear, rather than being more quickly eliminated as they are in the rest of the body.
There is an imperative need for a treatment that will help to prevent these ototoxic effects, especially in children. However, it is vital that the treatment not only be effective in protecting hearing, it must not interfere with the anti-tumor action of the chemotherapy or create additional toxic burden in the body.
The systemic administration of steroids has been demonstrated to effectively reduce platinum-induced hearing loss but can interfere with the chemotherapy drug’s effectiveness to kill the cancer cells. Yet it is a challenge to deliver therapy directly to the inner ear rather than systemically because the inner ear is behind a blood-labyrinth barrier. Vessels that supply blood to the inner ear have walls that are impermeable to most drug molecules.
Injecting liquid steroids into the middle ear is not very effective, as the steroids are lost through the eustachian tube as soon as the patient stands up. Therefore, the cochlea doesn’t receive high enough concentrations to prevent hearing loss. Thus, hearing protection has remained as an unmet medical need.
Otomagnetics has recognized this unmet need, and as its Co-founder, Benjamin Shapiro has stated, “There should not have to be a choice between effective chemo and lifelong hearing loss.” Toward meeting this need, Otomagnetics is developing a unique platform technology to deliver steroids directly to these hard to reach areas using loaded biodegradable nanoparticles delivered magnetically where they can be released in therapeutic amounts.
In addition, this magnetic delivery method may also be used to deliver a wide range of drug, gene and stem cell-based treatments to ultimately treat many different types of hearing loss, thereby improving the quality of life for many.
There are multiple large markets with unmet medical needs that this technology addresses, and Otomagnetics welcomes advocacy organizations, private industry, foundations, or individuals who have a shared interest and would like more information or who wish to partner with them in advancing their goals.
If you would like to find out more information about Otomagnetics' research, please visit www.otomagnetics.com.
Otomagnetics technology has not been approved for any use by the United States Food and Drug Administration. The technology is in early stage development and is not available for sale, clinical use, or otherwise.
