[Emphasis on basic research for corneal diseases].

Corneal disease is the second leading cause of blindness in China. Improvement of the diagnosis and treatment of corneal disease depends on the deepening and widening of the basic research in this area. In some fields, the research conducted in our country has reached the top level in the world. However, in general, obvious disparities exist between China and the developed countries in terms of lack of systematic research, limited financial support, the insufficiency of the quality and quantity of researchers and so on. Based upon the current situations of China, the future basic research on corneal diseases should focus on the mechanism of infectious corneal diseases, gene mutation of corneal dystrophy, corneal tissue engineering, the pathogenesis of dry eye, the reconstruction after severe chemical burns of ocular surface, the pathogenesis of ocular surface neovascularization, the prophylaxis and therapy of corneal graft rejection, etc. Other important measures to improve the basic research of corneal diseases in our country would include applying for more research funds, training high quality researchers, and strengthening the cooperation with different disciplines and with other countries.