HEREDITARY DEAFNESS WORKSHOP

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It has long been known that genetic factors play a major role in the etiology of deafness and that both syndromic and non-syndromic forms of deafness exhibit an extreme degree of multi-local genetic heterogeneity. Until recently, it seemed impossible that the characterization of genetic deafness syndromes could be carried beyond the clinical level. However, within the past year, the application of modern techniques of molecular genetics have shown how it is possible to localize specific genes for hereditary deafness by genetic linkage studies and how to clone genes that are specifically involved in the formation of the organ of hearing by the development of specific cochlear and vestibular expression libraries. These developments promise to lead to the rapid cloning of many of the different genes that can cause deafness. Determination of the protein products of these genes by the "reverse genetics" approach should yield more information relevant to a full understanding of the embryology and physiology of hearing than has been gained by the application of more conventional approaches during the past century. The ability to diagnose genetic deafness prenatally will raise moral and ethical questions about the application of this new knowledge that are unprecedented in the field of human genetics and must begin to be considered immediately. This is, thus, an opportune time to convene a workshop or, Hereditary Deafness at the 8th Congress of Human Genetics which will be held in Washington, D.C. from October 6-11, 1991. Experts from around the world will participate in the proposed workshop and funding is requested in this grant to support the travel and costs of the participants.