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The first scientists in Denmark given permission to use embryonic stem cells for research purposes have begun work on degenerative neurological diseases such as Parkinson and Alzheimer.
Steen Broch Laursen from the Department of Molecular Endocrinology at Odense University Hospital said that the first phase of the project would concentrate on comparing the opportunities afforded by embryonic stem cells with the current utility of adult stem cells.
"I'm very pleased that Danish scientists can at last join in research efforts using embryonic stem cells," Laursen told The Scientist. "These efforts could help millions of people suffering from severe diseases."
A law allowing biomedical research using embryonic tissue for therapeutic purposes came into effect in Denmark on September 1 of this year. The move followed a recommendation by the Danish Council of Ethics, which advises the Danish Parliament on the ethical problems raised by developments in biomedicine.
"Using embryos for therapeutic research is a real ethical problem," acknowledges Associate Professor Mette Hartlev, a member of the Danish Council of Ethics and a lecturer in law at the University of Copenhagen who voted in favor of allowing human embryonic stem cell research for therapeutic purposes.
"I do not consider a human embryo to have the same moral status as a born human being," she told The Scientist. "That is why I do accept that it should be possible to do research on human stem cells to obtain knowledge about severe diseases, such as Parkinson's, which has no cure."
Hartlev reported widespread interest among Danish scientists in research on human embryonic stem cells. She added, however, that researchers would find it difficult to gain access to the embryonic material.
Under the new law, only embryos that are leftover from in vitro fertilization treatment can be used. Moreover, the parents involved must give their permission for the embryos to be used for stem cell research. In addition, nuclear transfers are prohibited, and there is still a ban on therapeutic cloning as well as on reproductive cloning.
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