Recent gene delivery patents for treatment of atherosclerosis

摘要

Around the world, cardiovascular disorders are increasing in prevalence. Atherosclerosis acts as a silent disease, involving the build-up of a plaque in the arteries, restricting blood flow and leading organ failure, such as a heart attack or stroke [1]. Current therapeutic approaches to the disease involve lipid-lowering pharmaceutical, in combination with anti-inflammatory medication. In extreme cases, the plaque can be surgically removed. Statins, fibrates, bile acid binding resins and antihypertensive drugs can all be used to lower lipid levels, but often come with adverse side effects and high-risk profiles, for example statins can cause muscle aches and tenderness [2]. More recent novel treatment strategies, such as HDL mimetics, stearoyl-CoA desaturase regulators and purinergic receptor modulators, have not achieved clinical success, so there is still a need for an alternative way to effectively treat atherosclerosis without side effects. Gene therapy may have the potential to fill this gap by correcting the underlying cause of disease. The field has recently attracted wide interest from the researchers, as a potential source of therapies for cancer, cardiovascular, neurological, infectious and other diseases [3].