Faulty gene may cause glue ear

9 October 2006

Scientists believe they have found a gene that may be responsible for glue ear in children.

The work in mice, published in Public Library of Science Genetics, pinpoints a gene called Evi1.

Professor Steven Brown, and colleagues at the Medical Research Council Mammalian Genetics Unit, studied a mouse with hearing loss, which they called Junbo.

Like some children with otitis media, the Junbo mouse had severe, recurrent glue ear.

The Evi1 gene carries the genetic code for a protein that helps to translate other DNA code into instructions for the body. In the Junbo mouse, this appeared to affect the cells that line the middle ear when there is inflammation.

Source: BBC News
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