American Heart Association announces
top 10 research advances for 1998 --
gene therapy among the list
americanheart.org
1.Gene therapy to create a "natural" bypass to circumvent plaque obstructions in the heart's blood vessels
In the next century many people with heart disease may be routinely treated with a genetically engineered therapy that induces the growth of new blood vessels to and from the heart. These new vessels would help restore blood flow to the hearts of people whose arteries are obstructed by fat-laden plaque. By impeding blood flow, these fatty obstructions can cause severe chest pain, heart attacks and strokes. Gene therapy may become an adjunct to other therapies for heart disease, which now include low saturated fat diets, exercise, smoking cessation, and, if appropriate, medications such as cholesterol-lowering drugs and the surgical procedures of cardiac bypass surgery and angioplasty.
Gene therapy to create natural bypasses is described in research published this year in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. This research was also presented at the 71st Scientific Sessions, AHA's largest medical conference, in November. "At the American Heart Association's meeting in 1997, scientists described very preliminary research findings that unlocked the door to using gene therapy for heart disease," says Fuster. "This past year, researchers opened that door."
In February, 1998, German scientists reported in Circulation that they had used FGF-1, a human growth factor obtained through genetic engineering, to induce new blood vessels in 20 patients with heart disease. In their three-year follow-up of the patients, the scientists reported that the treatment resulted in a two to three times more blood flow to the heart.
In November at the AHA's Scientific Sessions, three groups of scientists reported preliminary findings about another growth factor, VEGF, to induce blood vessels to grow at the heart. The approach of each of the three groups differs. Boston scientists injected the gene for VEGF directly into heart tissue. The New York City researchers attach the VEGF protein to a cold virus to speed the protein's entry into heart tissue cells. In Finland, scientists paired the gene therapy with angioplasty.
"This is very exciting research but much more research is needed to verify and expand on these preliminary findings," adds Fuster. |
