A new firm called Otonomy, which specializes in products for inner-ear disorders, has done an initial public offering this year (ticker symbol: OTIC). It was started by a venture capitalist who came down with Meniere's disease. I read about it in the Wall Street Journal a few weeks ago. Here is some information on it: Otonomy is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapeutics for diseases and disorders of the ear. Otonomy's proprietary technology provides sustained exposure of drugs to the middle and inner ear following a single intratympanic (IT) injection. Otonomy has three product candidates in development. AuriPro(TM) is an antibiotic that has completed Phase 3 clinical trials in pediatric patients with middle ear effusion at the time of tympanostomy tube placement surgery. OTO-104 is a steroid that is in the first of two pivotal clinical studies for the treatment of patients with Meniere's disease. OTO-311 is an NMDA receptor antagonist in development as a treatment for tinnitus. For additional information, please visit www.otonomy.com.
I don't take much hope for this. Nothing new or revolutionary; merely a means to perfuse gentamicin into the inner ear over a longer period of time, using the company's proprietary gel, it appears. It may only mean that one will have to go to the ENT less frequently to get the antibiotic into the ear. But, is Meniere's caused by a deficiency of gentamicin, or something else? Is this not, perhaps, simply a different (albeit more effective) form of typical Meniere's symptom wacking? Does any of this in any way attack any root cause of Meniere's symptoms? I wish the company the best, but don't see what they are working on to be anything really special in completely suppressing any Meniere's root cause (such as a herpes viral infection). More effective symptom wacking methods will certainly have their place in Meniere's treatment; but unless a root cause of the disease can be effectively suppressed, the symptoms will simply continue and have to be wacked at. The prospects for a continuing suppression of symptoms are still in question. I would have preferred that the company devise some method of continuously administering appropriate doses of antiherpetic drugs, which do, indeed, suppress a major root cause of Meniere's. (And, a few weeks ago, I sent them my Meniere's Treatment PDF [http://www.zoominternet.net/~kcshop/JOH.pdf] and supporting clinical evidence for a viral etiology for Meniere's. Not a word back.) --John of Ohio
John, I think you didn't visit or read the information on Otonomy's website. There is no mention of Gentamicin being used. They provide a sustained release gel version of the antibiotic called Ciprofloxacin when a doctor inserts grommets in (mostly childrens) ears. What they do provide is a sustained release gel based steroid call Dexamethasone for use on Meniere's patients to calm the inner ear down when inflamed. I'm not surprised you haven't heard back from them on your regime since they are only providing alternative delivery methods with existing drugs. And where would they administer it? Where is the herpes hiding when it is not active and what tissues is it attacking when it is? The perfusion method works because they can administer the drug where they want it to work, absorbing through the round window membrane to get inside the labyrinth and the cochlea. I realize their treatment is only attacking the symptoms but why wait weeks or months for an antiherpectic to work when you can help calm down the symptoms quickly and also work on the long term suppression like your regime. Hell, if you have a migraine you don't start a migraine diet and wait weeks for you body to change to help prevent the headaches. You take something to suppress the pain (symptom) now and also work on long term solutions.
After posting this I reread what i wrote above and it sounds like I might be attacking you John. That is not my intent, I am asking those questions because those are the questions that need to be answered in order to come up with a way to administer the antiherpetic directly to the source. As we know anytime we can apply medication directly to the source the greater chances it will be able to perform its job effectively. If you can or any researchers can answer those questions then companies like Otonomy would probably be interested in coming up with a direct delivery method.
Nwspin, Understood. And you are correct on the dexamethazone as the active gel ingredient, not the gentamicin I claimed. Sustained release of this steroid will most probably result in better symptomatic control, compared to conventional admistration of this drug by periodic injections. Unfortunately, I have no suggested new, continous-release methods for antiherpetic drug administration. Again, I welcome Otonomy's attention to Meniere's symptoms and their new treatments. Few (or no) others are doing any of this. I wish them, and new patients who might benefit from their new products, well. --John of Ohio