Impact of low vision care on reading performance in children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment.

Background: Lack of evidence in literature to show low vision care enhances the reading performance in children with Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment (MDVI).

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of Low Vision Care intervention on the reading performance of children with MDVI.

Materials And Methods: Three subjects who were diagnosed to have cerebral palsy and visual impairment, studying in a special school were recruited for the study.

Efficient generation and cryopreservation of cardiomyocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells.

Aim: Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) represent a novel cell source to treat diseases such as heart failure and for use in drug screening. In this study, we aim to promote efficient generation of cardiomyocytes from hESCs by combining the current optimal techniques of controlled growth of undifferentiated cells and specific induction for cardiac differentiation. We also aim to examine whether these methods are scalable and whether the differentiated cells can be cryopreserved.

Cardiomyocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells in pro-survival factors enhance function of infarcted rat hearts.

Cardiomyocytes derived from human embryonic stem (hES) cells potentially offer large numbers of cells to facilitate repair of the infarcted heart. However, this approach has been limited by inefficient differentiation of hES cells into cardiomyocytes, insufficient purity of cardiomyocyte preparations and poor survival of hES cell-derived myocytes after transplantation. Seeking to overcome these challenges, we generated highly purified human cardiomyocytes using a readily scalable system for directed differentiation that relies on activin A and BMP4.

Human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes can be maintained in defined medium without serum.

Current procedures for the maintenance of cardiomyocytes from human embryonic stem (hES) cells rely on either co-culture with mouse cells or medium containing fetal bovine serum (FBS). Due to exposure to animal products, these methods carry the risk of potential pathogen contamination and increased immunogenicity. Additionally, FBS introduces inherent variability in the cultures due to the inevitable differences in serum lots.

Cardiac bodies: a novel culture method for enrichment of cardiomyocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells.

Human embryonic stem (hES) cell-derived cardiomyocytes hold great promise for cardiovascular regenerative medicine. However, this application faces a number of challenges, including generating cardiomyocytes of adequate purity. With current protocols being used by several laboratories, cardiomyocyte differentiation from hES cells occurs at low frequency and results in a mixture of differentiated cells.

Formation of human myocardium in the rat heart from human embryonic stem cells.

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) offer the opportunity to replenish cells lost in the postinfarct heart. We explored whether human myocardium could be generated in rat hearts by injecting differentiated cardiac-enriched hESC progeny into the left ventricular wall of athymic rats. Although initial grafts were predominantly epithelial, noncardiac elements were lost over time, and grafts consisted predominantly of cardiomyocytes by 4 weeks.

Characterization and enrichment of cardiomyocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells.

Cell replacement therapy is a promising approach for the treatment of cardiac diseases, but is challenged by a limited supply of appropriate cells. We have investigated whether functional cardiomyocytes can be efficiently generated from human embryonic stem (hES) cells. Cardiomyocyte differentiation was evaluated using 3 parent (H1, H7, and H9) hES cell lines and 2 clonal (H9.