University of Houston researcher builds new model to examine Usher syndrome

Muna Naash, and colleagues, designed and generated a model expressing the most common human disease mutation in Usher syndrome type 2A, an inherited disorder that causes deafness and blindness.

Most Usher syndrome models successfully reproduce the hearing loss observed in patients but fail to model the visual problems. Also, no study has come close to examining the actual mechanics behind the illness, until now – even though establishing a model for USH2A that mirrors patient’s phenotypes has been an important goal for the future development of therapeutic strategies.