C. Kupatt et al., Inhibition of post-ischaemic inflammation as a therapeutic approach to myocardial ischaemia reperfusion injury, EXPERT OP T, 10(9), 2000, pp. 1395-1403
Reperfusion injury of the heart remains an untreated condition even though
reperfusion strategies have been successfully implemented in the clinical s
tandard. Accordingly, low or no reflow phenomena with subsequent myocardial
infarction, myocardial and endothelial stunning as well as arrhythmias rem
ain aspects of reperfusion injury of the heart. Since leukocyte recruitment
has been linked to these phenomena, inhibition of leukocyte adhesion and o
f the subsequent post-ischaemic inflammation of the heart has emerged as a
therapeutic goal. Around 40 patents from 1997 to the first quarter of 2000
are implicitly or explicitly aimed at myocardial reperfusion injury.