The AudioNotch Tinnitus Treatment Blog

AM 101 is a drug currently in clinical trials for the treatment of tinnitus. A press release explains how it functions:

AM-101 is a small molecule N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist formulated in a biocompatible gel for intratympanic injection. Emerging evidence suggests that NMDA receptors in the cochlea play a major role in the occurrence of tinnitus following inner ear excitotoxicity, which is characterized by excessive synaptic release of glutamate, the principal neurotransmitter in the auditory system. Cochlear excitotoxicity may be triggered by, for example, trauma (e.g. exposure to excessive noise), neuroinflammation, disturbances in inner ear blood supply (anoxia/ischemia), or the administration of certain ototoxic drugs. It has been proposed that the upregulation of NMDA receptors induced by cochlear excitotoxicity is responsible for aberrant excitation of auditory nerve fibers, which is perceived as tinnitus. 

Glutamate-based excitotoxicity (whereby cochlear cells die due to overstimulation from glutamate) appears to be the mechanism by which hearing cells die – thus the mechanism of this drug appears to be sound.

Can you buy AM 101 now, though?

No – it’s still in clinical trials.