Offering the most innovative therapies to deaf and hard of hearing people, but also to those suffering from tinnitus, speech and language disorders such as stuttering, autism or even dyslexia, such is the objective of the new Hospital Institute. -university (IHU) reConnect. This IHU aims to draw on the latest scientific advances in the fields of genetics and neuroscience to provide new solutions to hearing and speech disorders. Some 300 researchers and clinicians, in conjunction with industrial partners and patient associations, will work together to develop the diagnostic tools and treatments of tomorrow, and thus contribute to curing these disabling and often invisible disorders.
Supported by the Hearing Institute, center of the Pasteur Institute, by AP-HP, Inserm, Paris Cité University and the Fondation Pour l’Audition, the IHU reConnect wishes to move from from compensatory medicine to restorative medicine.
Since its creation in 2020, the Hearing Institute, a center of the Institut Pasteur, has demonstrated the desire to put the fruit of its fundamental research at the service of medical research and innovation. In April 2024, when the reConnect University Hospital Institute (IHU) is created thanks to an endowment of 40 million euros from the State, and the support of the Pasteur Institute, Inserm, the Fondation Pour l’Audition, Paris Cité University, AP-HP, this ambition is taking shape. The IHU reConnect was set up in the form of a foundation sheltered by the Pasteur Institute whose aim is to rely on the fundamental knowledge base of the Hearing Institute and the expertise of its partners. AP-HP, Inserm, Paris Cité University and the Fondation Pour l’Audition, to provide patients with the latest scientific advances in the fields of hearing and speech. “ Cochlear implants have been a real revolution for deaf and hard of hearing people, but now there are new approaches: first and foremost gene therapy, for which a first clinical trial aimed at treating deafness in children is underway. , and neuromodulatory therapies for speech disorders. In the medium term, it is also possible to count on a new generation of electrical and optogenetic implants that use light to stimulate auditory cortex neurons, currently being tested in animal models.underlines Anne-Lise Giraud, director of IHU reConnect and director of the Hearing Institute, a center of the Institut Pasteur. The IHU aims to take a new turn by moving towards true hearing medicine. ».
In order to accelerate progress, offer new diagnostic tools but also new treatments to patients, around 300 researchers and doctors (ENT, neurologists, neurosurgeons, geriatricians) and hearing and speech professionals (hearing prosthetists, speech therapists) will combine their skills within the IHU. These specialists are part of the Hearing Institute, notably the Center for Research and Innovation in Human Audiology (CeRIAH) at the Pasteur Institute, but also the Audiology Research Centers at Necker Hospital – Children Sick AP-HP (pediatric CREA), the Pitié Salpêtrière AP-HP hospital (adult CREA) as well as the ENT Emergency Center of the Lariboisière AP-HP hospital “ Thanks to the strengthened link with clinicians, but also with manufacturers and associations of people concerned, the patient will really be at the center of research and will be able to follow the advances made live, whether in terms of gene therapy or robotic surgery. or hearing screening », Illustrates Professor Yann Nguyen, clinical director of IHU reConnect and ENT surgeon at the Pitié-Salpêtrière AP-HP hospital. Studies on the effect of compressed sounds on hearing, or on the rehabilitation of dyslexia through rhythm, are already underway. Large cohorts of patients suffering from presbycusis (age-related hearing loss) and tinnitus – 10% of the French population – will make it possible to search for specific genes or biomarkers linked to these disorders. An essential step to then design therapeutic solutions likely to slow down or even stop these disorders.
« These cohorts, made up of thousands of patients, will require significant human resources to collect samples and process the data. They could not be implemented without the existence and financial support of IHU reConnect », Continues Professor Yann Nguyen.
Seven major priority research themes have been defined within the IHU reConnect, with the common ambition of defining the contours of tomorrow’s medicine in the field of hearing and speech, the two being often closely linked. “ The themes selected, which range from deafness to neurodegenerative diseases, follow the auditory pathways, from the external ear to the brain.summarizes Professor Claire Paquet, scientific director of IHU reConnect and head of department of the Cognitive Neurology Center at Lariboisière AP-HP hospital.
It is moreover this transversal aspect which characterizes the IHU in my eyes: a transversal approach which covers all ages, all disciplines, all diseases, from the rarest to the most common. It allows us to break down barriers between specialties and to think together ».
Training and prevention actions will also be implemented throughout the territory with the help of the IHU. “ We want to provide greater visibility to the treatments and management of hearing disorders: train students, inform clinicians of new treatments available and better inform the general public. We would also like, as there are defibrillators in all public places, to set up emergency hearing medicine so that sudden deafness is treated quickly, for example after concerts. », illustrates Anne-Lise Giraud.
Beyond the hearing and speech disorders themselves, the patients concerned encounter communication and isolation problems; the latter can lead to language delays and learning difficulties in children, and to difficulties in professional integration in adults.
Thomas Dutronc, musician and singer, sponsor of IHU reConnect adds “ It is an honor for me to be the sponsor of IHU reConnect, an initiative which aims to bring together all hearing health professionals to improve the management of hearing and speech disorders, often less so. visible. Music is a powerful vehicle for human connection, and I believe every voice deserves to be heard. With reConnect, we have the opportunity to join forces to improve the quality of life of those suffering from these disorders.”
Furthermore, deafness represents a predisposing factor for cardiovascular diseases and depression, and constitutes the first preventable risk factor for dementia. “ According to the WHO; hearing problems could affect one in four people by 2050 due to the noisy sound environments in which we live, but also to the increase in life expectancysays Anne-Lise Giraud. It is therefore essential to support this cause and put hearing, its disorders and its protection, at the center of public debate, as is the case with the creation and today the official launch of the IHU reConnect ».
About AP-HP: The leading hospital and university center (CHU) in Europe, the AP-HP and its 38 hospitals are organized into six hospital-university groups (AP-HP. Center – Université Paris Cité; AP-HP. Sorbonne Université; AP-HP . North – Paris Cité University; Paris-Saclay University; Henri-Mondor University Hospitals and Paris Seine-Saint-Denis University Hospitals. Closely linked to major research organizations, the AP-HP has eight world-class university hospital institutes (ICM, ICAN, IMAGINE, FOReSIGHT, PROMETHEUS, InovAND, reConnect, THEMA) and the largest health data warehouse ( EDS) French. A major player in applied research and innovation in health, AP-HP holds a portfolio of 810 active patents, its clinical researchers sign more than 11,000 each year scientific publications and nearly 4,400 research projects are currently under development, all promoters combined. In 2020, AP-HP obtained the Carnot Institute label, which rewards the quality of partnership research: Carnot@AP-HP offers industrial players solutions in applied and clinical research in the field of health. The AP-HP also created the AP-HP Foundation in 2015, which acts directly with caregivers in order to support the organization of care, hospital staff and research within the AP–HP. http://www.aphp.fr
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