WORLDWIDE ANALYSIS AND COLLECTION CENTER FOR DATA ON SYNDROMIC GENETIC HEARING-LOSS - A NEW PROPOSAL

The remarkable number of syndromic genetic hearing loss (about 150), t he extreme variety of clinical signs that can be associated with the h earing loss, and the different possible conbinations make the diagnosi s od syndromic genetic haering loss sometimes very difficult and motiv ated the development of an expert system (G-DEAFNEX). A collection cen tre is proposed: to act as a referral centre, for patients with suspec ted syndromic genetic hearing loss, that aids the diagnostic procedure ; to act as a centre for the collection of data on patients with known syndromic genetic hearing loss; to collaborate with Hearing Internati onal in a worldwide epidemiological study on syndromic genetic hearing loss; to refine the G-DEAFNEX expert system.