Gene therapy for peripheral arterial disease

Our understanding of the molecular biology of vascular disease is rapidly e xpanding, and this scientific growth has brought with it new opportunities for therapeutic intervention at the molecular and genetic levels. Although our tools for genetic manipulation in vivo and our knowledge of potential m olecular targets are still crude and incomplete, the early application of t hese concepts to clinical problems is already underway, both in the pre-cli nical and clinical arenas. The treatment of peripheral vascular disease, al though greatly improved over recent decades by surgical and minimally-invas ive techniques, remains limited by vascular proliferative lesions and by ou r inability to modulate the progression of native disease. This review expl ores some of the evolving concepts of therapeutic gene manipulation and the ir initial application in the peripheral circulation.