第2090期:Studies: Gene Treatment Lets Children Deaf at Birth Hear

Gene treatments are being credited with permitting several children born with deafness to hear again.

基因治疗被认为使一些先天性耳聋的儿童能够再次听到声音。

Gene therapy is a medical treatment that aims to change a few of a patient’s genes to cure a genetic disease.

基因疗法是一种旨在改变患者的一些基因以治愈遗传性疾病的医疗方法。

A small study recently published in The Lancet reported improvements in the hearing in five of six children who were treated in China.

《柳叶刀》最近发表的一项小型研究报告称，在中国接受治疗的六名儿童中，有五名的听力得到了改善。

Around the same time, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the U.S. eastern state of Pennsylvania announced similar improvements in an 11-year-old boy treated there. And earlier, Chinese researchers published a study showing similar improvements in two other children.

大约在同一时间，美国东部宾夕法尼亚州费城儿童医院宣布，该医院治疗的一名 11 岁男孩也出现了类似的症状。 早些时候，中国研究人员发表的一项研究显示，另外两名儿童也有类似的改善。

The experimental methods, or therapies, target only one rare condition. But scientists say similar treatments could someday help many more children with other kinds of deafness caused by genes.

实验方法或疗法仅针对一种罕见的情况。 但科学家表示，类似的治疗有一天可以帮助更多患有由基因引起的其他类型耳聋的儿童。

Around the world, 34 million children have deafness or hearing loss. And information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says genes are responsible for up to 60 percent of cases.

全世界有 3400 万儿童耳聋或听力损失。 美国疾病控制与预防中心的信息显示，高达 60% 的病例是由基因造成的。

Deafness caused by genes is passed down from parents to children. It is called hereditary deafness. It is the latest condition scientists are targeting with gene therapy. Gene therapy is already approved to treat illnesses such as sickle cell disease and severe hemophilia.

由基因引起的耳聋会从父母遗传给孩子。 这被称为遗传性耳聋。 这是科学家们通过基因疗法针对的最新病症。 基因疗法已被批准用于治疗镰状细胞病和严重血友病等疾病。

Children with hereditary deafness often get a device called a cochlear implant that helps them hear sound.

患有遗传性耳聋的儿童通常会使用一种称为人工耳蜗的装置来帮助他们听到声音。

“No treatment could reverse hearing loss…That’s why we were always trying to develop a therapy,” said Zheng-Yi Chen of Boston’s Mass Eye and Ear, a treatment center for eye and ear problems. He is a writer of the study published in The Lancet. “We couldn’t be more happy or excited about the results.”

“没有任何治疗方法可以逆转听力损失……这就是为什么我们一直在努力开发一种治疗方法，”波士顿眼耳问题治疗中心的陈正毅说。 他是发表在《柳叶刀》上的研究报告的作者。 “我们对结果感到非常高兴或兴奋。”