Can a Supplement Really Help You Combat Age-related Hearing Loss? This is What a New Study Says
The latest study on the issue says that many over-the-counter supplements could be a convenient way to combat age-related hearing loss, according to a new study
As we age, Sensory cells in the inner ear called outer hair cells (OHCs) lose their ability to stretch in response to sound, preventing sound amplification and leading to age-related hearing loss.
How to prevent age-related hearing loss naturally?
A new study published today in the open-access journal PLOS Biology shows that common supplements may help you prevent age-related hearing loss.
A team of scientists, led by María Eugenia Gomez-Casati from the Institute of Pharmacology at the University of Buenos Aires-CONICET, alongside Mauricio Martin from the Institute of Medical Research Mercedes and Martín Ferreyra from the National University of Córdoba (INIMEC-CONICET-UNC) in Argentina, has discovered a link between age-induced hearing loss and reduced cholesterol levels in the inner ear.
Their findings, released today in the PLOS Biology journal, demonstrate that phytosterols, a type of supplement, can substitute the depleting cholesterol, preventing sensory impairments in mice.
Sound amplification in the inner ear is credited to outer hair cells (OHCs), which adjust their length in response to sound. As these cells age, they lose this adaptability, resulting in diminished sound amplification and eventually age-induced hearing loss.
The crucial role of cholesterol in this process, combined with recent insights about its decreasing levels in the brain with age, led the researchers to suspect its depletion in OHCs might be causing hearing loss. To test this theory, they turned to mice.
Initially, they assessed the presence of CYP46A1 in the OHCs of the inner ear, as this enzyme aids in recycling cholesterol. As anticipated, older mice exhibited more of this enzyme, leading to reduced cholesterol.
To determine the cause and effect, young mice were subjected to hearing impairment by intensifying the activity of CYP46A1. Then, they experimented to see if brain cholesterol levels could neutralize this effect.
Since cholesterol can’t cross into the brain directly from the bloodstream, they opted for phytosterols, plant-derived compounds resembling cholesterol. Remarkably, young mice treated with both the enzyme enhancer and a phytosterol-rich diet for three weeks displayed restored OHC performance.
Phytosterols for age-related hearing loss
Given the availability of phytosterols in many supplements, they might offer a handy solution to age-related hearing deficits. However, rigorous testing on older mice and humans is vital before making any conclusive statements.
The research team notes, “Our study underscores several key points: 1) Aging results in the depletion of cholesterol from the inner ear’s sensory cells, 2) a specific treatment, commonly used for HIV/AIDS patients, mirrors the cholesterol reduction seen in elderly subjects causing OHC dysfunction, and 3) this malfunction can be partially remedied with phytosterols. These insights are groundbreaking, highlighting the potential of phytosterols as a viable strategy against hearing loss.”
The research team notes, “In the present work we show that: 1) aging triggers cholesterol loss from sensory cells of the inner ear, 2) a retroviral treatment widely employed for HIV/AIDS patients reproduces the cholesterol loss observed in aged individuals and leads to impaired outer hair cells’ function and 3) we found that these defects can be partly reversed by phytosterols supplementation.
They further add: “Our findings are very promising because they provide the first proof-of-principle supporting phytosterols supplementation as a possible approach for prevention or treatment of hearing loss.”
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