Pursuits
Lady Gaga at High Volume Drives Hearing-Loss Drug Search
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Drugmakers have a slew of treatments for afflictions related to sex and drugs. Now they may have one for rock ’n’ roll.
Novartis AG is developing a gene therapy that may reverse hearing loss by stimulating the regrowth of microscopic hair cells in the inner ear, allowing people to hear. The hairs are destroyed by prolonged exposure to loud noise, and don’t take root again naturally. Novartis treated the first patient in October after successful tests on rats.