Transcatheter Edge-to-Edge Mitral Valve Repair in a Patient With Anderson-Fabry Disease.

Severe degenerative mitral regurgitation (DMR) is one cardiac manifestation of the multiorgan metabolic enzyme disorder Anderson-Fabry Disease (AFD). Although DMR is normally managed surgically, many patients with AFD are unsuitable for this. We present the first case of mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair in a patient with AFD.

Psychosocial Competencies Among Clinic-Referred and Community-Based Children: Known-Groups Validity of the Psychosocial Strengths Inventory for Children and Adolescents (PSICA).

Child psychosocial competencies protect against the development of psychopathology, ameliorate existing psychosocial problems, and predict positive long-term developmental cascades. Assessment of these competencies can improve identification of children in need of psychosocial services, enrich treatment planning, and improve treatment progress and outcome monitoring. Yet, appropriate measures are limited.

Left atrial appendage occlusion for ischemic stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: clinical expert opinion and consensus statement for the Asian-Pacific region.

Purpose: To develop a consensus statement for left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in Asian-Pacific patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) at risk of ischemic stroke. The need for such a region-specific consensus was indicated by the relative paucity of clinical evidence for LAAO and oral anticoagulation therapy obtained in Asian-Pacific populations and the specific stroke and bleeding characteristics of this population.

Methods: Consensus was developed by discussion and evaluation of available evidence and expert opinions during a 2-day meeting attended by clinical experts from the Asian-Pacific regions.

A biomechanical analysis of the stand-up paddle board stroke: a comparative study.

Background: Stand-up paddle boarding (SUP) is a rapidly growing global aquatic sport, with increasing popularity among participants within recreation, competition and rehabilitation. To date, few scientific studies have focused on SUP. Further, there is no research examining the biomechanics of the SUP paddle stroke.

Derivation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells from human embryonic stem cells.

The directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into specific, determined, and high-purity cell types can provide a means to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms of development and to generate cells for potential therapeutic applications. The ability to derive homogeneous cell populations obviates the need for transgene expression or cell sorting methods and can improve selection efficiency, lineage differentiation, cell viability, and clinical utility. Compared to undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells, high-purity cell phenotypes for clinical therapeutic strategies are expected to enhance engraftment, potentiate clinical efficacy, and decrease the risk of adverse effects such as dedifferentiation or teratoma formation.

Human embryonic stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cell transplants improve recovery after cervical spinal cord injury.

Evidence that cell transplants can improve recovery outcomes in spinal cord injury (SCI) models substantiates treatment strategies involving cell replacement for humans with SCI. Most pre-clinical studies of cell replacement in SCI examine thoracic injury models. However, as most human injuries occur at the cervical level, it is critical to assess potential treatments in cervical injury models and examine their effectiveness using at-level histological and functional measures.

Stem cell-based cell replacement strategies for the central nervous system.

During human development, cells of the blastocyst inner cell mass proliferate and give rise to each cell in the human body. It is that potential which focuses intense interest on these stem cells as a substrate for cell-based regenerative medicine. An increased understanding of the interrelation of processes that govern the formation of various cell types will allow for the directed differentiation of stem cells into specified cells or tissues that can ameliorate the effects of disease or damage.

Potentials of ES cell therapy in neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases comprise a heterogeneous spectrum of neural disorders that cause severe and progressive cognitive and motor deficits. A histological hallmark of these disorders is the occurrence of disease-specific cell death in specific regional subpopulations of neurons, such as the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease. Neurodegenerative disease can also possibly occur from the loss or dysfunction of selected glial cell subsets, such as the dysfunction of supportive glial cells around somatic motor neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Prehydration alone is sufficient to prevent contrast-induced nephropathy after day-only angiography procedures--a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Contrast agents used in angiography procedures for patients with cardiovascular disease are known to cause contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), which may be partially due to the production of nephrotoxic oxygen-free radicals. It is uncertain whether administration of intravenous (IV) anti-oxidant, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), can prevent reduction in renal function and whether this is a cost-effective approach.

Methods: Sixty-five day-only patients with renal impairment (mean serum creatinine concentration 0.

Salvage stenting for acute renal failure secondary to renal artery stenosis.

We present two cases of successful, emergency renal artery stenting in the setting of acute renal failure requiring dialysis secondary to renal artery stenosis. Early reopening of the stenotic renal artery led to the resolution of acute renal failure and obviated the need for further dialysis in both cases.