PERTH, Australia, April 18 (UPI) -- University of Western Australia scientists in Perth say they are fast tracking a study looking at the healing process for common ear infections.
Officials at the university's Lions Ear and Hearing Institute say the research is designed to reveal why some eardrums heal by themselves -- or in some cases, why they don't heal at all -- by identifying genes responsible for the wound-healing process of an infected human eardrum.
According to the World Health Organization, nearly half of the world's population suffers from ear infections that cause hearing loss and can lead to more serious disorders, such as meningitis.
Senior Research Scientist Dr. Reza Ghassemifar will lead the 3-year project under a $238,600 grant from Australia's Garnett Passe and Rodney William Memorial Foundation.
"With this funding we can start our studies to understand how wounds in eardrums heal themselves by examining the cells and molecules in the replacement tissue, Ghassemifar said. "If we can understand how an eardrum heals itself, we can help clinicians identify new techniques to speed up the healing process for sufferers of ear infections."
