Moroccan deaf boy can now hear after US surgeons operation
An 11-year-old Moroccan deaf boy received a breakthrough gene therapy, RFI plus agencies reported on 23 January 2024.
Aissam Dam was born “profoundly deaf” due to a highly rare abnormality in a single gene.
He underwent a surgical procedure on 4 October 2023 at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). The procedure partially involved lifting his eardrum and then injecting a harmless virus, which had been modified to transport copies of the otoferlin gene into the internal fluid of cochlea.
Nearly four months after receiving the treatment in one ear, Aissam’s hearing improved. However, he currently has mild to moderate hearing loss.
Director of clinical research for CHOP’s otolaryngology division, surgeon John Germiller, explained that the hearing loss gene therapy is something that they, as scientists and physicians, have been working towards for over 20 years and it finally exists.
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Surgeon John Germiller believes that although the gene therapy was to correct an abnormality in one, very rare gene, these studies may open the door for future use and for some of the over 150 other genes that cause childhood hearing loss.
“As more patients at different ages are treated with this gene therapy, researchers will learn more about the degree to which hearing is improved and whether it can be sustained over many years,” Germiller said.
Furthermore, According to CHOP this milestone represents hope for patients worldwide, with hearing loss caused by genetic mutations.
However, the New York Times reported that, regardless of Aissam being able to hear, he may never learn to talk. This is because the brain’s window for acquiring speech closes around the age of five.
Radio France Internationale plus agencies
