Stem-cell trial set for eye diseases

The one-year procedure will be tried on 10 patients at Wat Rai Khing Hospital who suffer from various eye problems, ranging from cataracts and glaucoma to eye injuries, with minimal chance of infection and zero chance of growing cornea tissue from their good eyes.

In normal treatment, cornea tissue needs to be extracted from a patient's healthy eye to be cultured on a placenta, but under adult stem-cell treatment, tissue can come from any of the patient's body parts.

No study on embryonic stem cells has been made in Thailand, due to the lack of ethical or legal studies to justify the practice.

NRCT secretary-general Anont Bunyarattavej said yesterday his agency would grant Bt25 million to Thai researchers working on stem-cell applications - about 20 per cent more than last year's budget.

That is trivial compared to developed countries, but other types of research on grassroots problems here also need funding, he said during a two-day seminar held at the NRCT.

Yesterday's session focused on technical and instructional topics involving stem-cell medicine, while today's session will discuss practices from ethical, religious and social viewpoints.