RESEARCH ARTICLE


Nonsyndromic Deafness - Molecular Update



Piatto V.B*, 1, Secches L.V.1, Arroyo M.A.S.1, Lopes A.C.P.2, Maniglia J.V.1
1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical School of São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São Paulo, Brazil
2 Department of Morphology, Medical School of São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São Paulo, Brazil


© 2009 V.B et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Rua Santina Figliagi Ceccato, 450 Ap-23A, Vila Itália, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil. Zip Code: 15035-180; Tel: +55-17-3201-5747; E-mail: vabp@bol.com.br, vabp@ig.com.br


Abstract

In most cases, hearing loss is a disorder caused by both genetic and environmental factors. The molecular description of deafness has experienced remarkable progress in the last decade, and it is emerging from the use of contemporary methods of cell and molecular biology. Currently, through the application of clinical and molecular genetics it is possible to identify genes associated with inherited, nonsyndromic deafness, and balance dysfunctions of the human cochlea. This brief review provides insights into nonsyndromic hearing loss, since the identification of the molecular basis for the inner ear function provides the basis for developing rational new approaches to diagnosis, management and treatment of auditory and vestibular disorders.

Keywords: Nonsyndromic, Nonsyndromic, sensorineural, molecular genetics, gene.