Contribute to hearing loss prevention
Impact of hearing loss
Hearing loss is the most frequent sensory impairment, affecting 360 million people worldwide. Hearing loss has an important impact on quality of life and society in general. It also increases the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. It was listed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a priority disease for research into therapeutic interventions.
Genetic birth defect
In some patients, the cause is DFNA9, a dominantly inherited disorder leading to severe hearing loss and balance disorders. There is currently no treatment available that can prevent the development of DFNA9.
Inner-ear gene therapy
Local gene therapy to restore hearing or prevent hearing loss has been studied extensively in recent years using neonatal mouse models. A clinical study is currently underway in which adult patients with severe sensorineural hearing loss are injected with virus-based vectors carrying gene therapy to repair hair cells. These vectors are injected directly into the cochlea. This way, we expect to reduce the severity of hearing loss or to prevent the onset of hearing loss caused by DFNA9.
Support this project
Do you want to support our project? Here's how you can contribute:
Tax relief
Did you know that every donation of 40 euros or more is 45% tax deductible? This is an extra incentive to provide maximum support to our hearing loss prevention research.
Step 1 - Donation
There are two ways to donate:
- By bank transfer to bank account number BE42 7310 4624 7854 in the name of 'Universiteit Antwerpen'. Be sure to mention 'fiscaal attest' (tax certificate) and your preferred destination, in this case: 'Inner-ear gene therapy', in the communication field.
- By online payment, where you can indicate your preferred destination straight away.
Step 2 - Donation form
In order to allocate your donation correctly, we recommend you to also send us the donation form where you indicate your preference for the destination of the amount again.
Send the filled in form:
- digitally: email it to universiteitsfonds@uantwerpen.be ( a scan or photo are sufficient)
OR
- by post: Universiteitsfonds Antwerpen - Middelheimlaan 1 M.A.223 - 2020 Antwerpen