
The ear is the only major organ that is not included on the FDA’s list of recommended tissues to test for toxicity as part of regulatory submission. Since approximately one-third of all FDA approved drugs are associated with hearing loss or tinnitus as possible side effects, the potential for ototoxicity is both well-documented and not adequately addressed. Turner Scientific and Sinclair Research feel that the potential for ototoxicity is not being adequately addressed and that evaluating such potential damage to hearing represents a large unmet need both patients and drug developers.
Ototoxicity Research Services
- Behavioral audiogram and tinnitus testing
- Cytocochleograms
- General middle and inner ear hisopathology
- Multiple animal models
- Multiple noise exposure models
- Multiple drug delivery routes
Ototoxicity is regrettably common to many medications:
- Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin, Ibuprofen
- Aminoglycoside antibiotics such as kanamycin, neomycin, gentamycin
- Additional antibiotics such as erythromycin, vancomycin, and many others
- Diuretics such as furosemide, bumetanide
- Chemotherapeutic (cancer) agents such as bleomycine, cisplatin, carboplatinum, methotrexate
- Antimalarials such as chloroquine
- Cardiac medications such as propanolol, quinidine
- Anesthetics such as lidocaine, bupivacain
- Psychopharmacologic agents such as amitryptiline, benzodiazepines, bupropion, fluoxetine, imipramine, lithium
- Glucocorticoids such as prednisolone, ACTH
- Thalidomide