A new hope has been provided to thousands of patients who turned deaf due to an immune system attack by a latest research at the University of Michigan’s Kresge Hearing Research.

This study is expected to help patients in finding out of steroids can help them find great relief and if they can do so without coming in close proximity with harsh side effects of steroids.

From News-Medical.Net:

Of the eight study participants who had systemic autoimmune diseases and showed signs of antibodies against IESCA, six regained their hearing after steroid treatment.

Researchers at U-M have been studying IESCA for several years in animals and have found that it may be a main target of the immune system’s deafening attack on the inner ear.

IESCA is found in the supporting cells that help make up the organ of Corti, a tiny but crucial structure inside the cochlea, or inner ear.

It is here, inside the organ of Corti, that the ultra-sensitive hair cells are found.

According to senior author Thomas Carey, Ph.D., a professor and distinguished research scientist at the U-M Medical School and department chair in the School of Dentistry, the results of this study strongly suggest that an accurate prediction in regard to new hope for patients expecting normal hearing abilities with steroid treatment can be a possibility with a direct test for antibodies.