By Martin Banks - 11th November 2009
The group is unique
Karen Avraham
An EU-wide research group has launched an appeal to help it find a cure for deafness.
The EuroHear project, comprising leading scientists from all over Europe, was set up five years ago, partly to help identify a possible cure for deafness, a condition that affects 40 million Europeans.
However, the EU-funded project is coming to the end of its mandate and is now appealing for new funding.
Speaking at a conference in Brussels on Wednesday, professor Karen Avraham, the project's joint coordinator, said, "The group is unique as it is the only one of its kind in the world."
She pointed out that during the last five years, the group has achieved several "major" scientific achievements, including identifying 20 "novel" deafness genes and developing "new tools" for preventing hearing impairments.
"These are achievements that could have a direct impact on those people with hearing loss," she said.
The group, comprising 150 leading scientists in 12 countries, has received a total of €12m in EU funding but this ends at the end of November.
"We are now looking for new sources of EU-related funding in order to allow us to continue our invaluable work," she said.
"This would allow us to continue working together to try and find a cure for deafness and help alleviate hearing loss. This is much more preferable to working separately."
The conference, which concludes on Thursday, was told of the "huge economic and social cost" caused by deafness.
"The condition results in people missing work, social isolation and other health issues," said Avraham.
"EuroHear has emerged as a leader in identifying the genes and pathogenic processes responsible for the onset of deafness.
She said "much has yet to be learned" about the way the auditory system works.
"Remarkably, deafness is the most common genetic disorder and hearing impairment is the most frequent sensory defect in humans, affecting more than 10 per cent of the population.
"We are trying to find a cure but our funding has to be renewed."
The group, created within the sixth framework, is based in Paris.
