A charity has called on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to guarantee millions of pounds for research into stem cell therapies for multiple sclerosis.
The MS society, which represents sufferers of the disease, said without large-scale government support for clinical trials the new hope offered by stem cell science may be lost.
It wants to see a specific injection of £3 million to move stem cell technology from the laboratory bench to the hospital ward.
Four years ago the Government announced a £50 million windfall for stem cell science.
But since then little has been done to promote research into practical stem cell treatments for conditions such as multiple sclerosis, the MS Society claims.
Stem cells are immature cells that can develop along a number of different pathways.
Scientists hope some of them may be used to create replacement neurons for brain and nervous system diseases, or new immune system cells.
Both could be useful in the treatment of MS, which is an auto-immune disease.
MS occurs when immune system cells attack myelin, the fatty insulating sheath that protects nerve fibres and helps them to transmit messages efficiently.
More than 85,000 people in the UK suffer from the disease, which causes symptoms ranging from mild tingling and loss of balance to full blown paralysis.
