Published in the journal Nature Medicine, a study has revealed that a particular form of deafness, which is usually seen running in families, can be prevented using a small `genetic patch'. The study was carried out by researchers at the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago.

Usher syndrome is of a number of types, which can cause different errors in the DNA of a patient. The DNA is a blueprint that is essential for the growth of every component of the body. It is being said that these defective sections of the genetic code could be corrected in mice. The same allowed them to restore their hearing ability.

It has been informed that a mutation commonly runs in families that come from French settlers in North America. Though, they make attempts to build hormonin-named protein, they fail to do so. The hormone is essential for formation of tiny hairs in the ear to detect sound.

The defects caused by Usher syndrome raise a person's risk of suffering from problems like balance, sight and hearing. Therefore, the study is being hoped to pave way for the development of a potential cure for the syndrome.

"More research is needed to understand how this new therapy could be used to treat this particular type of Usher Syndrome in humans and discover whether vision can be rescued", affirmed Action on Hearing Loss's head of biomedical research, Dr. Ralph Holme.