Opportunities for genetic research in otology: a review of the literature

Background. Because of the serious psychological, social, economic, and medical consequences, considerable effort has been invested in identifying genes and molecular pathways involved in hearing loss to prevent, improve rehabilitation, and develop treatments for ear diseases associated with hearing loss. Genomic sequencing technologies have led to the discovery of genes associated with hearing loss. Studies of the inner ear transcriptome and epigenome have characterized key regulators and pathways involved in inner ear development and paved the way for their use in regenerative medicine. The use of viral vectors for gene delivery in animal models of hearing loss has prompted the industry to work towards bringing such approaches into the clinic. Gene delivery using adeno-associated viral vectors, have allowed targeted manipulation of transcription factors involved in hair cell differentiation, which will open up prospects for gene therapy for sensorineural hearing loss. The use of genetic diagnosis and sequencing may replace audiologic screening of newborns in the future because of its higher cost-effectiveness. In the presence of otitis media, full genome sequencing of clinical bacterial isolates can be used to select an appropriate and effective drug that reduces side effects. Questions remain regarding the ethical use of genetic data and, in particular, genetic manipulation. The search for an answer to the question of how to properly dispose of the results of genetic testing may lead to entirely new approaches in understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of otologic diseases. However, for most multifactorial diseases, significant correlations between individuals' altered genes and susceptibility to a particular disease could not be found, or were small.

Results. The article presents a literature review of data from medical databases: Pubmed, Elibrary, Google Academy. The possibilities of genetic research in sensorineural hearing loss, middle otitis media and Meniere's disease are described.

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