title: Gene therapy for restenosis: are we ready?
abstract: The application of gene therapy techniques to the clinical problem of coronary restenosis has generated tremendous attention and enthusiasm. Use of gene transfer technology to prevent a common intractable illness would represent a watershed event for human gene therapy. However, the time is not yet right to initiate gene therapy trials for restenosis. The biology of restenosis is incompletely understood, catheter-based gene delivery is poorly adapted to the coronary circulation, and current gene transfer vectors are ill-suited for safe and effective gene delivery to the coronary artery wall. Basic research designed to overcome these obstacles is currently more appropriate than the initiation of clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco 94141-9100, USA.
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: DeYoung
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Dichek
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D012008:Recurrence