Skip to main content

Vitamins And Minerals Might Prevent Hearing Loss


Vitamins And Minerals Might Prevent Hearing Loss
Image result for vitamins
Soldiers exposed to the deafening din of battle have little defense against hearing loss, and are often reluctant to wear protective gear like ear plugs that could make them less able to react to danger. But what if a nutritious daily "candy bar" could prevent much of that potential damage to their hearing?
In a new study in animals, University of Michigan researchers report that a combination of high doses of vitamins A, C, and E and magnesium, taken one hour before noise exposure and continued as a once-daily treatment for five days, was very effective at preventing permanent noise-induced hearing loss. The animals had prolonged exposure to sounds as loud as a jet engine at take-off at close range.
Clinical trials of a hearing-protection tablet or snack bar for people could begin soon, and if successful such a product could be available in as little as two years, says Josef M. Miller, Ph.D., the senior author of the study, which is published online in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Miller is a professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at the U-M Medical School, and former director of the U-M Health System's Kresge Hearing Research Institute, where the study was performed.
Convinced by emerging evidence that nutrients can effectively block one major factor in hearing loss after noise trauma -- inner ear damage caused by excessive free radical activity -- Miller has launched a U-M startup company OtoMedicine that is developing the vitamin-and-magnesium formulation.
"These agents have been used for many years, but not for hearing loss. We know they're safe, so that opens the door to push ahead with clinical trials with confidence we're not going to do any harm," says Miller.
The formulation the researchers used built on earlier animal studies showing that single antioxidant vitamins were somewhat effective in preventing hearing loss, and on studies of Israeli soldiers given magnesium many days prior to exposure, who gained relatively small protective effects.
In the U-M study, noise-induced hearing loss was measured in four groups of guinea pigs treated with the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, magnesium alone, an ACE-magnesium combination, or a placebo. The treatments began one hour before a five-hour exposure to 120 decibel (dB) sound pressure level noise, and continued once daily for five days.
The group given the combined treatments of vitamins A, C and E and magnesium showed significantly less noise-induced hearing loss than all of the other groups.
"Vitamins A, C and E and magnesium worked in synergy to prevent cell damage," explains Colleen G. Le Prell, Ph.D., the study's lead author and a research investigator at the U-M Kresge Hearing Research Institute. According to the researchers, pre-treatment presumably reduced reactive elements called free radicals that form during and after noise exposure and noise-induced constriction of blood flow to the inner ear, and may have also reduced neural excitotoxicity, or the damage to auditory neurons that can occur due to over-stimulation. The post-noise nutrient doses apparently "scavenged" free radicals that continue to form long-after after this noise exposure ends.
In the past 10 years, scientists have learned that noise-induced hearing loss occurs in part because cell mitochondria in the ear churn out damaging free radicals in response to loud sounds. "Free radical formation bursts initially, then peaks again during the days after exposure," explains Le Prell.
The antioxidant vitamins and magnesium used in the study are widely used dietary supplements, not new drugs, and therefore they don't require the extensive safety tests required for new drug entities prior to use in clinical trials. The doses to be used in proposed human trials will be within the ranges considered safe according to the Institute of Medicine and federal nutrition guidelines.
"Ultimately, we envision soldiers would have a nutritional bar with meals and it would give them adequate daily protection," says Miller. Similar bars with other formulations are already given to soldiers to help them withstand hot weather and other war zone conditions.
"Other people would likely benefit by consuming a pill or nutritional bar before going to work in noisy environments, or attending noisy events like NASCAR races or rock concerts, or even using an iPod or other music player," says Le Prell. "Based on an earlier study with other antioxidant agents, we think this micronutrient combination will work even post-noise."
That study suggested a "morning after" treatment, that might minimize hearing damage for soldiers, musicians, pilots, construction workers and others -- even if they don't take it until after they experience dangerous noise levels. It was highlighted by the National Institutes of Health on the NIDCD website at http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/research/stories/archives/06/08_01_06.asp.
If effective, such pre- and post-noise treatments could have far-reaching effects. About 30 million Americans regularly experience hazardous noise levels at work and at home, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Communications Disorders. Hunting, snowmobiling, using machines such as leaf blowers, lawnmowers and power tools, and attending or playing in loud music concerts commonly expose people to dangerous noise levels. Noise levels above 85 decibels damage hearing. About 28 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss. For about a third of them, noise accounts at least in part for their loss.
The U-M study also adds strength to research efforts under way in many research centers to learn how these nutrients might be used to treat many illnesses. "Similar combinations have been very effective in preventing macular degeneration, and many of these agents have been used with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, stroke-like ischemia, and other conditions that involve neural degeneration," Le Prell says. "You're always hoping as a basic scientist to find a commonality like that, across other disease processes," says Miller.
U-M has applied for patents covering the use of this unique combination of vitamins and minerals in the prevention of hearing loss, as demonstrated in this study; if and when revenues are generated as a result of these commercialization efforts, the University and the inventors of the technology stand to benefit financially. An additional author of the study is Larry F. Hughes, Dept. of Surgery/Otolaryngology, Southern Illinois University Medical School. The study was supported with funds from the National Institutes of Health, General Motors Corporation/United Automotive Workers Union, and the Ruth and Lynn Townsend Professorship in Communication Disorders. Reference: Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 42 (2007) 1454--1463

Story Source:
Materials provided by University of Michigan Health SystemNote: Content may be edited for style and length.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Essential Minerals

Minerals: Functions and Sources The body needs many minerals; these are called essential minerals . Essential minerals are sometimes divided up into major minerals (macrominerals) and trace minerals (microminerals).  A balanced diet usually provides all of the essential minerals. The two tables below list minerals, what they do in the body (their functions), and their sources. Major minerals Mineral Function Sources Sodium Needed for proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction Table salt, soy sauce; large amounts in processed foods; small amounts in milk, breads, vegetables, and unprocessed meats Chloride Needed for proper fluid balance, stomach acid Table salt, soy sauce; large amounts in processed foods; small amounts in milk, meats, breads, and vegetables Potassium Needed for proper fluid balance, nerve transmission, and muscle contraction Meats, milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes Calciu...

Vitamin C Can Reduce High Blood Pressure, Study Finds

Vitamin C Can Reduce High Blood Pressure, Study Finds CORVALLIS, Ore. - Researchers have discovered that a 500 milligram daily supplement of vitamin C can significantly reduce high blood pressure in hypertensive patients. The study, published this month in the medical journal Lancet, was done by scientists at the Boston University School of Medicine and the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. It was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. "Hypertension is a serious health problem in much of the world," said Balz Frei, professor and director of the Linus Pauling Institute, and a co-author of the research along with principal investigator Dr. Joseph Vita at Boston University. "It's a key risk factor in heart disease and strokes." "We believe this is a significant finding that may be of considerable value to patients who have moderately elevated blood pressure," Frei s...

Zinc can halt the growth of cancer cells, study says

Zinc can halt the growth of cancer cells, study says Zinc supplements can significantly inhibit the proliferation of esophageal cancer cells, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Texas at Arlington researcher. Previous studies had shown that zinc is essential for maintaining human health and protects the esophagus from cancer. However, it has never been fully understood why zinc has the ability to prevent cancer in the esophagus. In this study, a team led by Zui Pan, an associate professor of nursing at UTA's College of Nursing and Health Innovation and a noted esophageal cancer researcher, discovered that zinc selectively halts the growth of cancer cells but not normal esophageal epithelial cells. The finding was published this month in  The FASEB Journal , the official journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Esophageal cancer is the sixth leading cause of human cancer deaths around the world, according to the Nation...