In this project, Professor Els Henckaerts at KU Leuven, Belgium, is testing gene therapy as a method to treat hearing loss caused by mutations in the ‘stereocilin’ gene. Project start date: March 2026 Project end date: February 2028 About the project One of the most common genetic causes of childhood hearing loss is a mutation in the stereocilin gene, which leads to a type of hearing loss called ‘DFNB16’....
No actionable change — this is an early-stage feasibility study with no human results yet.
Stereocilin mutations cause a specific inherited form of hearing loss, and a successful gene therapy could one day offer a curative option beyond hearing aids or cochlear implants.
- 01Prof. Els Henckaerts at KU Leuven is leading the project (March 2026–February 2028).
- 02Focus is on feasibility testing of gene therapy for stereocilin (STRC) gene mutations.
- 03Stereocilin mutations cause non-syndromic hereditary hearing loss.
- 04Study is pre-clinical; no human trial results are available.
- 05Funded and reported by RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People).
Gene therapy is being investigated as a feasible treatment for stereocilin-related hearing loss.
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