 |
 |
KOREA: Stem Cell Research To Advance To Clinical Trials By Kim Tae-gyun ([log in to unmask]) 2004.02.28 Only two weeks after the world's first extraction of viable stem cells from a cloned human embryo was announced by a research team headed by professor Hwang Woo-suk, scientists here have unveiled a project to elevate the groundbreaking research to a new level - clinical trials on human patients. Gil Medical Center, a hospital in Incheon, said yesterday that it would build a research center at its campus to experiment with the stem cell technology to treat incurable diseases such as Parkinson's and spiral cord injuries. Hwang will join the research project at the center, the hospital said. "We plan to invest 35 billion won to build a science center to study stem cell technology," the local daily Munhwa Il- bo quoted Lee Cheol-ok, president of the hospital. "Construction will be finished by the end of this year. Then we will seek approval from the government's bioethics committee and begin clinical trials with the cell technology," he said. According to Lee, the research center will first focus on sufferers of Parkinson's disease and spiral cord injuries. The center's medical team plans to transplant stem cells in the brains of these patients to regenerate nerve cells for the first time in the world, he said. The stem cells Hwang succeeded in obtaining from the cloned human embryo are the master cells of all organs. Scientists believe that they can be grown into parts of the brain, heart or nerve cells and offer new cures to many untreatable diseases. But Hwang's achievement also sparked ethical debates as the research needs human embryos that many civic groups deem as a human life form. Currently, the Korean government has a ban on reproductive cloning. But it allows cloning for medical use such as Hwang's recent project. Permitted cloning research is subject to regulation by a state-designated bioethics committee, according to the government. SOURCE: Korea Herald, South Korea http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/02/28/200402280005.asp * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn