Ricci’s Study Targets Inner Ear with Semicircular Canal Drug Delivery
Our recent publications demonstrates that we can selectively deliver drugs to the inner ear in a controlled manner that does not damage either hearing or vestibular function. It shows that we can target very specific spaces within the inner ear so that new therapies can be developed to target specific cell types. These new findings are important because we can locally deliver compounds to protect against the ototoxic side effects of chemotherapeutics or some antibiotics while not impacting the primary function of these compounds. We can also develop delivery platforms for gene therapy and regenerative approaches for the inner ear that won't reach other parts of the body where they could have negative side effects.