Potassium channels as promising new targets for pharmacologic treatment of tinnitus: Can Internet-based 'crowd sensing' initiated by patients speed up the transition from bench to bedside?

LANGGUTH B; ELGOYHEN AB; SCHLEE W

EXPERT OPINION ON THERAPEUTIC TARGETS

INFORMA HEALTHCARE

Lugar: London; Año: 2016 vol. 20 p. 251 - 254

1472-8222

Tinnitus, the perception of sound in the absence of acorresponding  sound  source  is  a  frequent  disorder.Many pharmacological compounds have been investi-gated, but for none of these is there convincing evi-dence  for  a  beneficial  effect  on  tinnitus  intensity  orloudness.[1]Despite the large impairment on quality of life andthe high socioeconomic burden, only little public fund-ing is allocated to tinnitus research. Also, the pharma-ceutical industry has largely neglected the tinnitus field.[2] As the understanding of tinnitus pathophysiology isstill incomplete and as there have not been serendipi-tous  discoveries  of  pharmaceutical  compounds  thatreliably reduce tinnitus intensity, no reliable targets forpharmaceutical treatment have yet been identified.