Safety of Autologous Stem Cell Infusion for Children With Acquired Hearing Loss

June 12, 2026 updated by: James Baumgartner, MD
To determine if autologous human umbilical cord blood infusion in children with acquired hearing loss is safe, feasible, improves inner ear function, audition and language development.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

There is currently no treatment available to repair/reverse acquired sensorineural hearing loss. Recent experiments using human umbilical cord blood treatment of a mouse and guinea pig models have demonstrated hair cell re-growth following acquired sensorineural loss as well as partial restoration of ABR. Autologous human umbilical cord blood therapy, which has been used for over twenty years, has an excellent safety record. This study will determine if autologous human umbilical cord blood infusion in children with hearing loss is safe and feasible, improves inner ear function, audition, and language development. The patients umbilical cord stem cells collected at birth and stored at Cord Blood Registry will be used for infusion.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
11

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Florida
      • Orlando, Florida, United States, 32803
        • Florida Hospital

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

3 years to 2 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Evidence of a sensorineural hearing loss

    • Unilateral or bilateral in configuration
    • Symmetrical or asymmetrical configuration
    • Sudden or progressive in presentation
    • Moderate to profound in degree (40-90 Decibels (dB) in at least one ear
  2. Normally shaped cochlea, as determined by MRI

  3. The loss must be considered:

    • Acquired
    • Unknown with a negative genetic test.
  4. Fitted for hearing aids no later than six months post detection of loss.
  5. Enrollment in a parent/child intervention program
  6. Age 6 weeks - 6 years old at time of infusion with less than 18 months of hearing loss at the time of cord blood infusion.
  7. Ability of the child and caregiver to travel to Orlando, and stay for at least 4 days, and to return for all follow-up visits.

Exclusion Criteria

  1. Inability to obtain all pertinent medical records:

    • (pertinent physician notes, speech language pathology notes, laboratory findings, test results and imaging studies-must be sent to the research team at least prior to the subject arriving at the study location for preliminary screening and eligibility assessment, preferably14 days before the scheduled hUBC treatment.)

  2. Known history of:

    • Recently treated infection less than 2 weeks before infusion.
    • Renal disease of altered renal function as defined by serum creatinine > 1.5 mg/dl at admission.
    • Hepatic disease or altered liver function as defined by SGPT > 150 U/L, and or T. Bilirubin > 1.3 mg/dL
    • Malignancy
    • Immunosuppression as defined by WBC < 3,000 at admission
    • Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
    • Hepatitis B
    • Hepatitis C
    • Evidence of an extensive stroke (> 100ml lesion)
    • Pneumonia, or chronic lung disease requiring oxygen
    • Genetic syndromic sensorineural hearing loss
  3. hUBC sample contamination
  4. Banked cord cells totaling less than 6x106 mononuclear cells/kilogram body weight.
  5. Evidence of the following maternal infections during the pregnancy (Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV 1, HIV 2, Human T-lymphotropic Virus (HTLV) 1, HTLV 2 (CMV and Syphilis can be included in the study)
  6. participation in a concurrent intervention study
  7. Unwillingness or inability to stay for 4 days following hUBC infusion (should problems arise following the infusion) and to return for the one month, six month and one year follow-up visits.
  8. Presence of a cochlear implantation device
  9. Evidence of a genetic syndrome
  10. Evidence of conductive hearing loss
  11. Documented recurrent middle ear infections which are frequent (>5 per year)
  12. Otitis media at the time of examination
  13. Sensorineural loss is mild
  14. Over 18 months from identification of hearing loss at time of infusion

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Autologous Stem Cells
A single dose of intravenously administered autologous hUCB will be done. The minimum acceptable dose will be 6x10 6th mononuclear cells/kilogram body weight. The hUCB reanimation, cell processing and product infusion will occur at Florida Hospital for Children and the Florida Hospital Center for Cellular Therapy.
Genetic: Autologous Stem Cells
The subjects autologous stem cells banked at Cord Blood Registry will be infused intravenously by gravity.
Other Names:
  • Cell based therapy

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Safety of Autologous Stem Cell Infusion: Number of Participants With Adverse Events.
Time Frame: 1 year
To determine if autologous human umbilical cord blood (hUBC) infusion in children with hearing loss is safe.
1 year
Feasibility of Autologous Stem Cell Infusion: Number of Participants Who Completed Cord Blood Infusion and 1 Month Follow-up.
Time Frame: 1 month
To determine if autologous human umbilical cord blood (hUBC) infusion in children with hearing loss is feasible.
1 month

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) Threshold in Decibels.
Time Frame: Pre-treatment (Baseline), 1,6 & 12 months post-treatment
ABR Threshold is a measure of the sound necessary to activate transmission through the eighth cranial nerve. Each participant was evaluated before, 1,6 and 12 months after autologous stem cell treatments. For each ear, ABR threshold was measured at 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz and using "Click" ABR.
Pre-treatment (Baseline), 1,6 & 12 months post-treatment
Change in Eight Cranial Nerve Wave 5 Latencies in Miliseconds.
Time Frame: Pre-treatment (Baseline), 1,6 & 12 months post-treatment
.For each ear, latency was measured at 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz and using "Click" ABR.
Pre-treatment (Baseline), 1,6 & 12 months post-treatment
Change in Standard Language Scores.
Time Frame: Pre-treatment, 6 & 12 months post-treatment
Preschool Language Scale-5. This test measures language development in infants and children. Standard scores are derived, with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, to compare a child's performance to their peers. Higher values are associated with better language development.
Pre-treatment, 6 & 12 months post-treatment
Change Fractional Anisotropy in the White Sites Along the Audiotory Pathways
Time Frame: Pre-treatment & 12 months post-treatment
Fractional anisotropy are arbitrary values generated from the DTI sequences of an MRI scan. Higher values suggest increased integrity of white matter pathways. Responders and nonresponders were evaluated separately. (Define non-responders and responders).Although 11 subjects were enrolled and received an autologous cord blood infusion, three subjects did not complete the entire MRI study protocol and could not be analyzed at study completion. The reasons these subjects did not undergo the second MRI are as follows: Subject 7 dropped out of the study, and Subject 11 underwent bilateral cochlear implantation after the 1-month follow-up. Subject 10 refused testing at 12-month follow-up.
Pre-treatment & 12 months post-treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
James Baumgartner, MD

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
CBR Systems, Inc.

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: James Baumgartner, MD, AdventHealth

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 11, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 10, 2017

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 8, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 16, 2014

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 17, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
July 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
June 12, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 434269

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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