XEN1101 (Azetukalner)

How it works

An oral small molecule (Xenon Pharmaceuticals) that opens Kv7 potassium channels to dampen excessive neuronal excitability, the same channel family the Potassium Channel Dysfunction hypothesis implicates in tinnitus. It is in late-stage clinical development for focal epilepsy and depression, not tinnitus: no dedicated tinnitus trial has been run. Included as a mechanistically plausible but untested candidate, a clinical-stage Kv7 opener that could, in principle, be repurposed for the dorsal-cochlear-nucleus hyperexcitability the hypothesis describes.

This describes the treatment concept as reported in the cited research: a scientific mechanism, not a guarantee of clinical availability.