Japanese researchers are aiming to commence clinical research as early as next year using induced pluripotent stem cells to help control the progress of Parkinson's disease, a member of the team said.

It would be the second such clinical research, following an effort conducted by the government-backed Riken scientific research institute using iPS cells for the retinal regeneration.

The team including Jun Takahashi, a professor at Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, is moving toward conducting the clinical research after developing a method to generate human iPS cell-derived dopaminergic neural progenitor cells to lessen the symptoms of the disease.