Therapeutic management of chronic venous insufficiency: Microcirculation as a target

Chronic venous insufficiency, in its most severe manifestations as well as in its mild farm, is linked to venous val iie failure, weakness of the veno us wall, and leukocyte-endothelial interactions all of which lead to cutane ous and subcutaneous tissue changes. These in turn are related to venous hy pertension-induced leukocyte activation, which maw provide a target for pha rmacotherapeutic intervention. Currently, surgical attack is focused on cor rection of the sources of venous hypertension, but. it is felt that this pr o tides a crude method that hopefully will be replaced by more precise phar macological interventions.