Gene therapy in cardiovascular diseases

Gene therapy for cardiovascular disorders is now fast developing with most therapies being devoted to the consequences (ischemia) rather than the caus es of atherosclerotic diseases. Recent human clinical trials have shown tha t injection of naked DNA encoding vascular endothelial growth factor promot es collateral vessel development in patients with critical limb ischemia. P romising studies in animals have also fueled enthusiasm for treatment of hu man restenosis by gene therapy, but clinical applications are warranted. Ap plication of gene transfer to other cardiovascular diseases will require th e coordinated development of a variety of new technologies, as well as a be tter definition of cellular and gene targets.