Administration of new nerve-stimulating drugs to prevent hearing loss in bacterial meningitis.

Research archive

The most common severe long-term after effect of bacterial meningitis is deafness, which affects up to one third of survivors. Currently, cochlear implantation is the only therapy available for people with deafness caused by damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or the cochlear nerve. Successful implantation is dependent on an intact cochlear nerve, but this nerve is often significantly damaged as a result of meningitis.

Deafness occurs when the inner ear is infected, destroying cells in the Organ of Corti crucial for the detection of sound.  Normally, cells within the Organ of Corti produce neurological agents that 'talk to' the cochlear nerve endings.  When the Organ of Corti cells are destroyed, there is nothing to stimulate the cochlear nerve, so it wastes away.  In order to increase the chances of patients benefiting from cochlear implant surgery, protection of the cochlear nerve is essential.

In this project, scientists will try to prevent cochlear nerve loss by giving neurological agents to stimulate the cochlear nerve and prevent it degenerating when Organ of Corti cells are destroyed. The therapeutic potential of several new neurological drugs will be evaluated. These drugs have already shown potential in experiments where they were administered directly to the cochlea in mice.  However, it is not possible to administer drugs to humans in this way, so the current study will find out whether the drugs can work in this mouse model of meningitis when given as a more clinically-oriented systemic injection alongside antibiotic therapy. If successful, this therapy could ultimately improve the outcome for patients deafened by meningitis, and so significantly enhance their quality of life.

This project was featured in our newsletter, Microscope. Click to view.