BANGKOK, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A medical team in Thailand is planning to conduct clinical trials of stem-cell therapy to treat three major neural diseases for the first time in the country, media reported Friday.

    The project seeks to help victims of Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury and strokes, and trials of transplanting developed stem cells into patients' central nervous systems are expected to begin this year, Maiyadhaj Samsenat, director of Thailand's Prasat Neurological Institute revealed on Thursday at the annual academic conference of the Department of Medical Services, started from Tuesday in Bangkok.

    According to Maiyadhaj, a team of about 12 neurological and stem-cell experts from the institute is currently reviewing the published results of related studies from all over the world for the project.

    The proposal is being drafted and needs approval from the institute's ethics committee before patient trials can start. The budget requirement for the first year has been set at 10 million baht (263 thousand U.S. dollars).

    Cell engineering and tissue growth laboratory at Mahidol University, renowned for advanced medical research in Thailand, will develop the proper type of stem cells for the project, said Ahnond Bunyaratvej, the secretary-general of the National ResearchCouncil of Thailand.

    The Prasat team is still undecided whether to use embryonic or adult stem cells, either of which have pros and cons that need to be weighed very carefully, said neurosurgeon Smarn Tangaroosin from the team.

    "We're just at the beginning," said Smarn, adding "though the efficacy of stem-cell transplant remains uncertain, it's proved tobe safe so far."

    Unlike other parts of the body, neural organs like nerve cells are the most complicated to handle, noted neurologist Akravudh Viriyavejakul from the institute. "And the idea of replacing damaged human organs with new man-made ones cannot apply to the nervous system. The only way so far is stem-cell therapy," he said.

    The most feared side-effect of a stem-cell transplant is the uncontrolled growth of the cells into a tumor, Akravudh said. Enditem